Syrian troops shell central city of Homs

AAA??Jun. 17, 2012?6:19 AM ET
Syrian troops shell central city of Homs
BASSEM MROUEBASSEM MROUE, Associated Press??

FILE - In this Sunday, May 20, 2012 file photo, Norwegian Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, head of the U.N. observer team in Syria, stands near a U.N. observers car in Zabadani neighborhood in Damascus, Syria. U.N. observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday, June 16, 2012 because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood said rising bloodshed over the past 10 days was posing significant risks to the lives of the some 300 observers in the country, and was impeding their ability to carry out their mandate.(AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, May 20, 2012 file photo, Norwegian Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, head of the U.N. observer team in Syria, stands near a U.N. observers car in Zabadani neighborhood in Damascus, Syria. U.N. observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday, June 16, 2012 because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood said rising bloodshed over the past 10 days was posing significant risks to the lives of the some 300 observers in the country, and was impeding their ability to carry out their mandate.(AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman, File)

In this Friday, June 15, 2012 photo, Syrians chant slogans during a demonstration at Saraqeb town in Idlib, north Syria. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

UN observers welcome their comrades upon their return from al-Haffa, in northern Syria, to Damascus, Syria on Saturday, June 16, 2012. U.N. Observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

U.N. observers welcome their comrades upon their return from al-Haffa, in northern Syria, to Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, June 16, 2012. U.N. observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

In this citizen journalism image taken on Friday, June 15, 2012 and provided by Edlib News Network ENN, Syrians chant slogans during a demonstration in Idlib province, northern Syria. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

BEIRUT (AP) ? Activists say Syrian troops have intensified their shelling of rebel-held neighborhoods in the central city of Homs as living conditions there deteriorate further.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees say the shelling killed at least one person on Sunday.

Activists say the city's besieged rebel-held areas have been under intense shelling and ground attacks for a week. The Observatory urged the U.N. to intervene and evacuate more than 1,000 Homs families, including women and children. It says their lives are in danger.

The latest shelling comes a day after U.N. observers suspended their patrols in Syria due to a recent spike in violence.

Activist say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the crisis in Syria began in March last year.

Associated PressPeople, Places and Companies: Syria

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