On Day 3 of Ceasefire, Shelling Hits Syrian City

Syrian troops and rebel gunmen carried out attacks across Syria today, killing at least nine people in a surge of violence that threatened a UN-brokered ceasefire. The bloodshed came as the Security Council considered whether to send the first wave of military observers to monitor the fragile truce. The heaviest fighting was reported in the central city of Homs, where regime forces shelled rebel-held neighborhoods, while rebel fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades at an area of regime loyalists.

In Aleppo, Syria's largest city, regime forces opened fire on mourners at a funeral, while rebel gunmen ambushed a car carrying soldiers in the southern province of Daraa. The two sides have traded allegations of scattered violations since the truce formally took effect Thursday. However, today's reports of the use of heavier weapons suggested the cease-fire was coming under increasing jeopardy. (More Syria stories.)