11 Dead as Syria Shells Homs

A day after the UN abandoned its mission in Syria, Bashar al-Assad's troops are turning up the heat in Homs, riddling the city with shelling that activists say has killed at least 11 so far. "Around 85% of Homs is now under shelling or bombardment with mortar rounds and heavy machine guns," an opposition leader tells Reuters. "Dozens of wounded are without treatment because all the hospitals have fallen under the control of (the militia). The dead are the lucky ones."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees is urging the UN to intervene, reports the AP, calling for the evacuation of more than 1,000 families it claims are in mortal danger. "Since the observers stopped working yesterday we have seen a clear escalation," another activist says. (More Syria stories.)