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Syria 'accepts Annan peace plan' Syria 'accepts Annan peace plan'
(about 17 hours later)
5.05pm: Here's a summary of the main developments so far today.
• Bashar al-Assad has accepted a plan by UN envoy Kofi Annan to end the bloodshed in Syria, a spokesman for Annan said. The plan includes commitments to end the violence, allow humanitarian assistance and allow protests.
• A member of the opposition Syrian National Council welcomed the government's acceptance of the peace plan. Bassma Kodmani told the Associated Press of her hope that "we can move toward a peace process".
• Syria's state-run news agency is reporting that President Assad has travelled the Baba Amr district of Homs "to inspect conditions there", the Associated Press says. Baba Amr was the site of a month-long siege by government forces before opposition fighters were driven out. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting there, activists said.
4.33pm: Some more albeit sketchy details are emerging on the two journalists, initially believed to be Algerian, who were killed in Syria yesterday (see 1.27pm).
Sarah Giaziri from the Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance newsgatherers, said a Syrian fixer told her the two men were in fact British nationals, although this can not be confirmed at present. There was another man with them, also reportedly a British national of Algerian origin who is reportedly in hospital in Antakya.
They were described as being in their late 20s/early 30s.
The UK foreign office said:
We are aware of reports and looking into them.
Giazari said (all of what she said is based on a conversation with a Syrian fixer who was present):

There was a group of 50 people being smuggled across the across. The three Algerians are British nationals and among these people were [other] English-speaking journalists. They were staying at some safehouse when it came under shelling. They all fled but they [the three] went back to get there equipment and that is when they [the two] were killed.
Giazari added that they have not been confirmed to be journalists but that they had camera equipment and said they wanted to go to Idlib to film a documentary about the humanitarian situation. They spoke only broken Arabic and communicated with each other in English, she said. They were not affiliated to any media organisation.
3.46pm: An interesting development in Tunisia where Nawaat, a group blog which played an important part in the revolution, has been working with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to train citizen journalists.
Sixty people, with an average age of 17, have now been trained and local blogs have been established in six areas – Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine, Bizerte, Makther, Gafsa, and Gebili (all located in Tunisia's interior and south).
This could herald a big change from the Ben Ali era when information was centrally controlled and monopolised by a few media outlets. Nawaat explains:
The goal is to have a national network of alternative and citizen media, using simple blogging platforms, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter accounts as the collectives' technical support. The project embodies the heart of grassroots journalism: decentralising information by helping local citizen journalists create their own regional content through a network covering issues directly relating to local residents.
The project continues, and the aim is to have 15 regional blogs running by the end of this year.
3.45pm: At the beginning of the TV clip showing President Assad's vist to Homs, (see 3.24pm) he can be seen walking past a mosque. Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, says it is the same mosque being shelled in this video.
The Local Co-ordination Committees say shelling has resumed in a number of areas of Homs today.
3.24pm: The official state news agency is reporting on the Syrian president's visit to Babr Amr, in Homs, but makes no mention of Assad's acceptance of Kofi Annan's six-point plan to end the bloodshed.
Sana describes Babr Amr as "earlier agonised by heavily-armed terrorist groups which terrorised the inhabitants". It says residents chanted "slogans of loyalty" to Assad.
The president is quote as saying:

The state has given those who deviated from the path of right the best of possible opportunities to backtrack and return to the Homeland, and to put down their arms; they, however, rejected seizing these opportunities and further increased their terrorism. So, there was a must as to work for restoring security, safety, and for imposing the rule of law.
3.02pm: Getting rid of Bashar al-Assad would not be a quick fix for Syria's problems, according to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"The internal conflict currently tearing Syrian society apart will not disappear with the departure of one or another political figure,"
RIA Novosti quoted Medvedev as saying earlier today at the nuclear summit in Seoul.

To consider that Assad's departure would solve all the problems would be very [shortsighted].
I would like the decision on the fate of the Syrian state, society, political system and people to be taken not by the respected leaders of world powers, even by those acting in good faith, but by the Syrian people themselves, by all levels of Syrian society.
2.47pm: Here is video of Assad's visit today to Babr Amr, in Homs, which was subjected to a month-long siege by government forces earlier this year.
The Syrian president was reportedly there to "inspect conditions".
2.43pm: More on the Syria/Lebanon border incident. Rachel Stevenson, a freelance journalist and filmmaker based in Lebanon says:
The Lebanese army is insisting that no troops crossed theborder. They say there was fighting along the border area but say it was on the Syrian side. The Lebanese army has now, however, deployed
more troops along this area.
Apparently a stray shell hit a house on the Lebanese side, causing some damage to the house but no-one was injured and we can't track down an actual witness to what happened. The owner of the house is away and doesn't know what happened.
The Beirut Daily Star notes:
This was not the first time the Syrian army has been accused of firing into Joura.
Syrian troops last week fired seven mortar shells into the village, but they all fell in uninhabited areas. Several homes were also struck by Syrian gunfire, but no one was hurt.
2.10pm: Here's a summary of the main developments so far today.
• Bashar al-Assad has accepted a plan by the UN and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, to end the bloodshed in Syria, a spokesman for Annan said. The plan includes commitments to end the violence, allow humanitarian assistance and allow protests. Annan is in Beijing today to discuss the crisis with the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.
• A member of the opposition Syrian National Council welcomed the government's acceptance of the peace plan. Bassma Kodmani told the Associated Press by telephone Tuesday that "we welcome all acceptance by the regime of a plan that could allow the repression and bloodbath to stop". She expressed her hope that "we can move toward a peace process".
• Syria's state-run news agency is reporting that President Assad has travelled the Baba Amr district of Homs "to inspect conditions there", the Associated Press says. Baba Amr was the site of a month-long siege by government forces before opposition fighters were driven out. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting there, activists said.
• Syrian troops have advanced into north Lebanon, destroying farm buildings and clashing with Syrian rebels who had taken refuge there, residents told Reuters. One resident said more than 35 soldiers crossed the border.
• The Local Co-ordination Committees said at least 20 people have been killed by the security forces so far today, including seven in Hama. Its reports cannot be independently verified.
1.35pm: We now have a first reaction from the Syrian opposition to the regime's apparent acceptance of the Annan plan. The Associated Press reports:
A member of the Syrian National Council says the opposition welcomes the government's acceptance of a UN peace plan.
Bassma Kodmani told The Associated Press by telephone Tuesday that "we welcome all acceptance by the regime of a plan that could allow the repression and bloodbath to stop."
She is a Paris-based member of the opposition Syrian National Council. She added: "We hope that we can move toward a peace process."
1.30pm: We reported earlier that the rebel Free Syrian Army has been accused of using child soldiers, according to a UN official, although the allegations have not been proved.
Does this picture in a New York Times gallery offer evidence? It's not conclusive but the soldier in this picture certainly looks like a boy rather than a man although his age is impossible to ascertain.
1.27pm: The Syrian Revolution General Commission said two Algerian journalists were killed in Syria on Monday. Another source said:
Three Algerian journalists were part of a group of 50 trying to enter Syria when the house they were staying was attacked by army and shabiya yesterday at 7.30am. The group ran away, but the journalists tried to return and were fired upon from an armored army vehicle. Two were killed. A third was wounded and brought to Antakya for treatment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said earlier this month that eight local and international journalists have died while working in the country since November, at least five in circumstances that indicate "potential government culpability".
1.20pm: Earlier, we posted a video of a helicopter firing in Aleppo (see 9.02am). Here is another video said to show a S-5KP 57mm unguided fragmentation effect aviation rocket which was fired from the helicopter.
The material in the video is not white phosphorous.
12.50pm: Details of the six points Assad has agreed to by accepting Kofi Annan's peace plan can be found on the UK foreign office website. In brief, they are:
1) commit to work with the envoy [Annan] in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people;
2) commit to stop the fighting
3) ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting
4) intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons
5) ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them
6) respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.
12.04pm: Some initial thoughts from Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, on Syria's apparent acceptance of the Annan plan:
Syrian agreement to accept a peace plan put forward by Kofi Annan could mark a turning point in the country's bloody year-long crisis, but experience suggests that the devil will be in the detail.
The former UN secretary-general has wide international support — including, crucially, from Russia and China for a ceasefire, humanitarian access, the release of prisoners and talks about a "Syrian-led" political solution.
But President Bashar al-Assad, under mounting pressure, will be tempted to play for time and haggle over conditions.
Late last year Damascus accepted a peace plan put forward by the Arab League and then spent weeks haggling over the "modalities" of issues like access for monitors. The mission failed.
For the international community, the Annan approach has the advantage of presenting a united front after embarassing disarray in February when Russia and China vetoed a UN security council resolution on Syria. Moscow and Beijing have both proved more flexible since then.
Key elements of the divided Syrian opposition recognise that the crisis will end with a political negotiation, not a military victory, but almost all insist that Assad must first step down. The Annan approach would leave the president in place to negotiate a transition – roughly what happened to President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen. But a solution that leaves him in power is impossible to imagine.
Annan, a cautious operator, has already hinted that Assad may have to step down – but emphasised that that is up to the Syrian people. Acceptance of the plan, as his spokesman quoted him as saying, is an "important initial step." But implementation is indeed the key.
11.50am: Syria's state-run news agency is reporting that President Bashar al-Assad has travelled the Baba Amr district of Homs "to inspect conditions there", the Associated Press says.
Baba Amr was the site of a month-long siege by government forces before opposition fighters were driven out. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting there.
11.43am: The gunfights may be continuing in Libya but, undeterred, a New Zealand burger company foresees "big opportunities" there. BurgerFuel Worldwide has just signed a partnership deal with a local firm, Sadeen General Trading.
Who knows – it might even by right. Its menu of burgers, with such names as Flame Thrower, Bastard, Peanut Piston, Hot Rod, Miami Vice and Studnut Stilton, sounds just the sort of thing to appeal to your average testosterone-filled militiaman. For those of a gentler disposition there's Basic Chick and Bambina – which of course have fewer calories.
Interestingly, BurgerFuel – which already has a presence in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq and Egypt – seems to be cashing in on its lack of American connections. "People in these countries like our non-American, New Zealand DNA," chief executive Josef Roberts is quoted as saying.
11.33am: A spokesman for UN envoy Kofi Annan says Syria has accepted his plan to end the country's bloodshed, according to a flash from AP. More details shortly, though it's perhaps worth mentioning at this stage that Syria accepted an earlier plan from the Arab League but failed to implement it.
10.58am: The use of capital punishment increased by almost 50% in the Middle East and North Africa last year, Amnesty International reports.
This is not the whole picture, though. As Amnesty acknowledges, figures for some countries (including Syria) are difficult to obtain and some regimes short-circuit the legal processes by resorting to extrajudicial killings.
Even so, the picture is not uniformly bleak. Four countries – Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen – accounted for 99% of all recorded executions in the region. While almost all Arab countries retain the death penalty in theory (and sometimes include other crimes besides murder), Algeria, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Tunisia have had no recent executions.
10.55am: Syrian troops have advanced into north Lebanon, destroying farm buildings and clashing with Syrian rebels who had taken refuge there, residents told Reuters.
Abu Ahmed, 63, from the rural mountain area of al-Qaa, said:
"More than 35 Syrian soldiers came across the border and started to destroy houses."

Another resident said that the soldiers, some travelling in armoured personnel vehicles, fired rocket-propelled grenades and exchanged heavy machinegun fire with rebels.
The Daily Star Lebanon also reported that al-Qaa was fired on by Syrian troops. But it said the clashes took place on the Syrian side of the border.
10.36am: Kofi Annan is in Beijing today, after meeting the Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday. A transcript of his comments yesterday as he prepared to board his flight in Moscow has been posted online. He said:

I think the statement yesterday from the [Russian] president was quite clear – that they are determined to work with me and the parties to bring about a peaceful solution. I think the president's statement yesterday about this being perhaps the only chance for Syria to get a peaceful settlement was an important statement, and in my own discussions with the Foreign Minister as well – they are prepared to work with me, work with me not only in supporting the approach and the plans I've put on the table but also encouraging the parties to move in the same direction and work with me in order to settle this issue peacefully.
Asked whether Assad should resign, he said:

That is one of the issues the Syrians will have to decide. Our effort is to help the Syrians come to the table and find a way out of all this. It may in the end come to that, but it's not up to me, it's up to the Syrians.
10.16am: It looks as though Omar al-Bashir (left), the Sudanese president, will be among those discussing what to do about Syria during the Arab League's meeting in Baghdad this weekend.
In 2009, the international criminal court issued a warrant for Bashir alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Darfur conflict.
Fortunately for Bashir, Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari has given assurances that he will not be arrested if he attends the Baghdad meeting, the Associated Press reports.
10.14am: Turkish Airlines is to halt flights to Syria. Turkey's national carrier will suspend ticket sales from Sunday but flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo will continue for a while for passengers who already have tickets, AP reports. Reuters has a slightly different take - it says all flights will cease from Sunday.
The announcement comes a day after Turkey closed its embassy in Damascus and withdrew the ambassador. Last week, it told its citizens to leave Syria.
9.51am: The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights has told AFP at least eight people have been killed by Syrian security forces today:
The Britain-based group said one woman was killed by a stray bullet in the Damascus suburb of Douma and two other women died in Maaret al-Numan, in the northwest province of Idlib.
One civilian was killed by sniper fire in Deblan, a neighbourhood of the flashpoint central city of Homs which has been under attack for weeks by regime forces trying to root out rebels.
Four soldiers also died in the clashes with rebel troops in Maaret al-Numan, the Observatory said.
Another activist group, the Local Co-ordination Committee says the historic al-Madiq citadel, which dates back to the Crusades, has come under fire again today. Video posted yesterday showed the citadel near Hama being shelled.
Another video from Madiq purports to show an operation by the Free Syrian Army targeting the supplies of Assad's forces.
Another famous Syrian landmark - the Hama water wheels - can be seen in a video of a protest, uploaded yesterday.
9.39am: Activist Mohammed Ashoor has posted a list of 82 people he says have been killed since the start of the protests in Bahrain on February 14 last year – including 35 who are said to have died from the effects of teargas.
Yesterday, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said there have been 31 "extrajudicial killings" since an official commission of inquiry reported last November. Most of those deaths were from teargas exhalation, including three in the last week alone, and three were as a result of torture, it said.
9.29am: Tunisia's Ennahda leader, Rachid Ghannouchi (left), and the country's new president, Moncef Marzouki, have been jointly nominated for the Chatham House Prize – awarded annually by the British foreign affairs thinktank "to the statesperson who is deemed ... to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year".
The other nominees are Archbishop Deng of South Sudan, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and Jonas Gahr Støre, foreign minister of Norway.
9.05am: Syrian activist Ammar Abdulhamid is cynical about the latest diplomatic efforts over Syria. In his Syrian Revolution Digest blog he writes:
The policies and pronouncements of world leaders vis-à-vis developments in Syria make clear that they are more interested in offering to re-legitimise the Assad regime through a new political arrangement than in paving the way for true democratic transition.
In exchange for a two-hour cessation of hostilities each day, and some vague promises of dialog, the Assads can be considered legitimate again. What Cannoli!
9.02am: A video, purportedly from Azaz, near the border with Turkey, shows a helicopter firing.
Videos emerged last week that appeared to show helicopter tracer fire in Azaz, which is in Aleppo province.
8.40am: Welcome to Middle East Live as diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria continue.8.40am: Welcome to Middle East Live as diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria continue.
Here is a round-up of the latest developments.Here is a round-up of the latest developments.
• Syria is top of the agenda at the three-day Arab League summit that begins in Baghdad today. Speaking ahead of the summit, the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said leaders were likely to agree on a "doable" solution to end the violence but "it's up to the Syrian people to determine their own future". He said:• Syria is top of the agenda at the three-day Arab League summit that begins in Baghdad today. Speaking ahead of the summit, the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said leaders were likely to agree on a "doable" solution to end the violence but "it's up to the Syrian people to determine their own future". He said:
It's not up to other countries to dictate to the Syrians what kind of leaders they have or don't have. I don't think there will be a call on Bashar to step aside."It's not up to other countries to dictate to the Syrians what kind of leaders they have or don't have. I don't think there will be a call on Bashar to step aside."
• Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria, is in Beijing to seek China's backing for his plan for a negotiated end to the bloody conflict in Syria. He arrived after meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow. Annan has already met with Chinese foreign ministry officials and is due to hold talks later with Premier Wen Jiabao.• Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria, is in Beijing to seek China's backing for his plan for a negotiated end to the bloody conflict in Syria. He arrived after meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow. Annan has already met with Chinese foreign ministry officials and is due to hold talks later with Premier Wen Jiabao.
• The rebel Free Syrian Army has been accused of using child soldiers in their fight against government forces, a UN official said. Use of child soldiers is banned under international conventions. The concern follows last week's report from the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch that armed Syrian opposition groups have kidnapped, tortured and executed members of supporters of Assad and members of his security forces.• The rebel Free Syrian Army has been accused of using child soldiers in their fight against government forces, a UN official said. Use of child soldiers is banned under international conventions. The concern follows last week's report from the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch that armed Syrian opposition groups have kidnapped, tortured and executed members of supporters of Assad and members of his security forces.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special representative for children and armed conflict, said:Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special representative for children and armed conflict, said:
We are receiving allegations of children with the Free Syrian Army ...We haven't been able to verify or check" the veracity of those allegations.We are receiving allegations of children with the Free Syrian Army ...We haven't been able to verify or check" the veracity of those allegations.
• A member of the special UN human rights commission panel appointed last year to examine abuses in Syria has resigned over lack of access. The panel won an extension of its mandate last week. But one of the three members, Yakin Erturk, said: "I had expected that we would have access in Syria, which was not the case". Erturk added that she was "very happy that the commission is continuing its work."• A member of the special UN human rights commission panel appointed last year to examine abuses in Syria has resigned over lack of access. The panel won an extension of its mandate last week. But one of the three members, Yakin Erturk, said: "I had expected that we would have access in Syria, which was not the case". Erturk added that she was "very happy that the commission is continuing its work."
• A draft declaration at a meeting of opposition groups in Istanbul stated that Syria will be "civic, democratic and totally free", with a transitional government to organise a ballot to elect a founding assembly to draft a new constitution. The talks are aimed at unifying the opposition but some key players have not attended. "The Syrian people are proud of their cultural and religious diversity. Everyone will contribute in building the future," the declaration said. Meanwhile, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood said it would not seek to monopolise power if Bashar al-Assad is toppled, in an attempt to assuage the concerns of minorities.• A draft declaration at a meeting of opposition groups in Istanbul stated that Syria will be "civic, democratic and totally free", with a transitional government to organise a ballot to elect a founding assembly to draft a new constitution. The talks are aimed at unifying the opposition but some key players have not attended. "The Syrian people are proud of their cultural and religious diversity. Everyone will contribute in building the future," the declaration said. Meanwhile, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood said it would not seek to monopolise power if Bashar al-Assad is toppled, in an attempt to assuage the concerns of minorities.
9.02am: A video, purportedly from Azaz, near the border with Turkey, shows a helicopter firing.
Videos emerged last week that appeared to show helicopter tracer fire in Azaz, which is in Aleppo province.
9.05am: Syrian activist Ammar Abdulhamid is cynical about the latest diplomatic efforts over Syria. In his Syrian Revolution Digest blog he writes:
The policies and pronouncements of world leaders vis-à-vis developments in Syria make clear that they are more interested in offering to re-legitimise the Assad regime through a new political arrangement than in paving the way for true democratic transition.
In exchange for a two-hour cessation of hostilities each day, and some vague promises of dialog, the Assads can be considered legitimate again. What Cannoli!
9.29am: Tunisia's Ennahda leader, Rachid Ghannouchi (left), and the country's new president, Moncef Marzouki, have been jointly nominated for the Chatham House Prize – awarded annually by the British foreign affairs thinktank "to the statesperson who is deemed ... to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year".
The other nominees are Archbishop Deng of South Sudan, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and Jonas Gahr Støre, foreign minister of Norway.
9.39am: Activist Mohammed Ashoor has posted a list of 82 people he says have been killed since the start of the protests in Bahrain on February 14 last year – including 35 who are said to have died from the effects of teargas.
Yesterday, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said there have been 31 "extrajudicial killings" since an official commission of inquiry reported last November. Most of those deaths were from teargas exhalation, including three in the last week alone, and three were as a result of torture, it said.
9.51am: The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights has told AFP at least eight people have been killed by Syrian security forces today:
The Britain-based group said one woman was killed by a stray bullet in the Damascus suburb of Douma and two other women died in Maaret al-Numan, in the northwest province of Idlib.
One civilian was killed by sniper fire in Deblan, a neighbourhood of the flashpoint central city of Homs which has been under attack for weeks by regime forces trying to root out rebels.
Four soldiers also died in the clashes with rebel troops in Maaret al-Numan, the Observatory said.
Another activist group, the Local Co-ordination Committee says the historic al-Madiq citadel, which dates back to the Crusades, has come under fire again today. Video posted yesterday showed the citadel near Hama being shelled.
Another video from Madiq purports to show an operation by the Free Syrian Army targeting the supplies of Assad's forces.
Another famous Syrian landmark - the Hama water wheels - can be seen in a video of a protest, uploaded yesterday.
10.14am: Turkish Airlines is to halt flights to Syria. Turkey's national carrier will suspend ticket sales from Sunday but flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo will continue for a while for passengers who already have tickets, AP reports. Reuters has a slightly different take - it says all flights will cease from Sunday.
The announcement comes a day after Turkey closed its embassy in Damascus and withdrew the ambassador. Last week, it told its citizens to leave Syria.
10.16am: It looks as though Omar al-Bashir (left), the Sudanese president, will be among those discussing what to do about Syria during the Arab League's meeting in Baghdad this weekend.
In 2009, the international criminal court issued a warrant for Bashir alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Darfur conflict.
Fortunately for Bashir, Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari has given assurances that he will not be arrested if he attends the Baghdad meeting, the Associated Press reports.
10.36am: Kofi Annan is in Beijing today, after meeting the Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday. A transcript of his comments yesterday as he prepared to board his flight in Moscow has been posted online. He said:

I think the statement yesterday from the [Russian] president was quite clear – that they are determined to work with me and the parties to bring about a peaceful solution. I think the president's statement yesterday about this being perhaps the only chance for Syria to get a peaceful settlement was an important statement, and in my own discussions with the Foreign Minister as well – they are prepared to work with me, work with me not only in supporting the approach and the plans I've put on the table but also encouraging the parties to move in the same direction and work with me in order to settle this issue peacefully.
Asked whether Assad should resign, he said:

That is one of the issues the Syrians will have to decide. Our effort is to help the Syrians come to the table and find a way out of all this. It may in the end come to that, but it's not up to me, it's up to the Syrians.
10.55am: Syrian troops have advanced into north Lebanon, destroying farm buildings and clashing with Syrian rebels who had taken refuge there, residents told Reuters.
Abu Ahmed, 63, from the rural mountain area of al-Qaa, said:
"More than 35 Syrian soldiers came across the border and started to destroy houses."

Another resident said that the soldiers, some travelling in armoured personnel vehicles, fired rocket-propelled grenades and exchanged heavy machinegun fire with rebels.
The Daily Star Lebanon also reported that al-Qaa was fired on by Syrian troops. But it said the clashes took place on the Syrian side of the border.
10.58am: The use of capital punishment increased by almost 50% in the Middle East and North Africa last year, Amnesty International reports.
This is not the whole picture, though. As Amnesty acknowledges, figures for some countries (including Syria) are difficult to obtain and some regimes short-circuit the legal processes by resorting to extrajudicial killings.
Even so, the picture is not uniformly bleak. Four countries – Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen – accounted for 99% of all recorded executions in the region. While almost all Arab countries retain the death penalty in theory (and sometimes include other crimes besides murder), Algeria, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Tunisia have had no recent executions.
11.33am: A spokesman for UN envoy Kofi Annan says Syria has accepted his plan to end the country's bloodshed, according to a flash from AP. More details shortly, though it's perhaps worth mentioning at this stage that Syria accepted an earlier plan from the Arab League but failed to implement it.
11.43am: The gunfights may be continuing in Libya but, undeterred, a New Zealand burger company foresees "big opportunities" there. BurgerFuel Worldwide has just signed a partnership deal with a local firm, Sadeen General Trading.
Who knows – it might even by right. Its menu of burgers, with such names as Flame Thrower, Bastard, Peanut Piston, Hot Rod, Miami Vice and Studnut Stilton, sounds just the sort of thing to appeal to your average testosterone-filled militiaman. For those of a gentler disposition there's Basic Chick and Bambina – which of course have fewer calories.
Interestingly, BurgerFuel – which already has a presence in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq and Egypt – seems to be cashing in on its lack of American connections. "People in these countries like our non-American, New Zealand DNA," chief executive Josef Roberts is quoted as saying.
11.50am: Syria's state-run news agency is reporting that President Bashar al-Assad has travelled the Baba Amr district of Homs "to inspect conditions there", the Associated Press says.
Baba Amr was the site of a month-long siege by government forces before opposition fighters were driven out. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting there.
12.04pm: Some initial thoughts from Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, on Syria's apparent acceptance of the Annan plan:
Syrian agreement to accept a peace plan put forward by Kofi Annan could mark a turning point in the country's bloody year-long crisis, but experience suggests that the devil will be in the detail.
The former UN secretary-general has wide international support — including, crucially, from Russia and China for a ceasefire, humanitarian access, the release of prisoners and talks about a "Syrian-led" political solution.
But President Bashar al-Assad, under mounting pressure, will be tempted to play for time and haggle over conditions.
Late last year Damascus accepted a peace plan put forward by the Arab League and then spent weeks haggling over the "modalities" of issues like access for monitors. The mission failed.
For the international community, the Annan approach has the advantage of presenting a united front after embarassing disarray in February when Russia and China vetoed a UN security council resolution on Syria. Moscow and Beijing have both proved more flexible since then.
Key elements of the divided Syrian opposition recognise that the crisis will end with a political negotiation, not a military victory, but almost all insist that Assad must first step down. The Annan approach would leave the president in place to negotiate a transition – roughly what happened to President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen. But a solution that leaves him in power is impossible to imagine.
Annan, a cautious operator, has already hinted that Assad may have to step down – but emphasised that that is up to the Syrian people. Acceptance of the plan, as his spokesman quoted him as saying, is an "important initial step." But implementation is indeed the key.
12.50pm: Details of the six points Assad has agreed to by accepting Kofi Annan's peace plan can be found on the UK foreign office website. In brief, they are:
1) commit to work with the envoy [Annan] in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people;
2) commit to stop the fighting
3) ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting
4) intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons
5) ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them
6) respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.
1.20pm: Earlier, we posted a video of a helicopter firing in Aleppo (see 9.02am). Here is another video said to show a S-5KP 57mm unguided fragmentation effect aviation rocket which was fired from the helicopter.
The material in the video is not white phosphorous.
1.27pm: The Syrian Revolution General Commission said two Algerian journalists were killed in Syria on Monday. Another source said:
Three Algerian journalists were part of a group of 50 trying to enter Syria when the house they were staying was attacked by army and shabiya yesterday at 7.30am. The group ran away, but the journalists tried to return and were fired upon from an armored army vehicle. Two were killed. A third was wounded and brought to Antakya for treatment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said earlier this month that eight local and international journalists have died while working in the country since November, at least five in circumstances that indicate "potential government culpability".
1.30pm: We reported earlier that the rebel Free Syrian Army has been accused of using child soldiers, according to a UN official, although the allegations have not been proved.
Does this picture in a New York Times gallery offer evidence? It's not conclusive but the soldier in this picture certainly looks like a boy rather than a man although his age is impossible to ascertain.
1.35pm: We now have a first reaction from the Syrian opposition to the regime's apparent acceptance of the Annan plan. The Associated Press reports:
A member of the Syrian National Council says the opposition welcomes the government's acceptance of a UN peace plan.
Bassma Kodmani told The Associated Press by telephone Tuesday that "we welcome all acceptance by the regime of a plan that could allow the repression and bloodbath to stop."
She is a Paris-based member of the opposition Syrian National Council. She added: "We hope that we can move toward a peace process."
2.10pm: Here's a summary of the main developments so far today.
• Bashar al-Assad has accepted a plan by the UN and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, to end the bloodshed in Syria, a spokesman for Annan said. The plan includes commitments to end the violence, allow humanitarian assistance and allow protests. Annan is in Beijing today to discuss the crisis with the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.
• A member of the opposition Syrian National Council welcomed the government's acceptance of the peace plan. Bassma Kodmani told the Associated Press by telephone Tuesday that "we welcome all acceptance by the regime of a plan that could allow the repression and bloodbath to stop". She expressed her hope that "we can move toward a peace process".
• Syria's state-run news agency is reporting that President Assad has travelled the Baba Amr district of Homs "to inspect conditions there", the Associated Press says. Baba Amr was the site of a month-long siege by government forces before opposition fighters were driven out. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting there, activists said.
• Syrian troops have advanced into north Lebanon, destroying farm buildings and clashing with Syrian rebels who had taken refuge there, residents told Reuters. One resident said more than 35 soldiers crossed the border.
• The Local Co-ordination Committees said at least 20 people have been killed by the security forces so far today, including seven in Hama. Its reports cannot be independently verified.
2.43pm: More on the Syria/Lebanon border incident. Rachel Stevenson, a freelance journalist and filmmaker based in Lebanon says:
The Lebanese army is insisting that no troops crossed theborder. They say there was fighting along the border area but say it was on the Syrian side. The Lebanese army has now, however, deployed
more troops along this area.
Apparently a stray shell hit a house on the Lebanese side, causing some damage to the house but no-one was injured and we can't track down an actual witness to what happened. The owner of the house is away and doesn't know what happened.
The Beirut Daily Star notes:
This was not the first time the Syrian army has been accused of firing into Joura.
Syrian troops last week fired seven mortar shells into the village, but they all fell in uninhabited areas. Several homes were also struck by Syrian gunfire, but no one was hurt.
2.47pm: Here is video of Assad's visit today to Babr Amr, in Homs, which was subjected to a month-long siege by government forces earlier this year.
The Syrian president was reportedly there to "inspect conditions".
3.02pm: Getting rid of Bashar al-Assad would not be a quick fix for Syria's problems, according to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"The internal conflict currently tearing Syrian society apart will not disappear with the departure of one or another political figure,"
RIA Novosti quoted Medvedev as saying earlier today at the nuclear summit in Seoul.

To consider that Assad's departure would solve all the problems would be very [shortsighted].
I would like the decision on the fate of the Syrian state, society, political system and people to be taken not by the respected leaders of world powers, even by those acting in good faith, but by the Syrian people themselves, by all levels of Syrian society.
3.24pm: The official state news agency is reporting on the Syrian president's visit to Babr Amr, in Homs, but makes no mention of Assad's acceptance of Kofi Annan's six-point plan to end the bloodshed.
Sana describes Babr Amr as "earlier agonised by heavily-armed terrorist groups which terrorised the inhabitants". It says residents chanted "slogans of loyalty" to Assad.
The president is quote as saying:

The state has given those who deviated from the path of right the best of possible opportunities to backtrack and return to the Homeland, and to put down their arms; they, however, rejected seizing these opportunities and further increased their terrorism. So, there was a must as to work for restoring security, safety, and for imposing the rule of law.
3.45pm: At the beginning of the TV clip showing President Assad's vist to Homs, (see 3.24pm) he can be seen walking past a mosque. Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, says it is the same mosque being shelled in this video.
The Local Co-ordination Committees say shelling has resumed in a number of areas of Homs today.
3.46pm: An interesting development in Tunisia where Nawaat, a group blog which played an important part in the revolution, has been working with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to train citizen journalists.
Sixty people, with an average age of 17, have now been trained and local blogs have been established in six areas – Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine, Bizerte, Makther, Gafsa, and Gebili (all located in Tunisia's interior and south).
This could herald a big change from the Ben Ali era when information was centrally controlled and monopolised by a few media outlets. Nawaat explains:
The goal is to have a national network of alternative and citizen media, using simple blogging platforms, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter accounts as the collectives' technical support. The project embodies the heart of grassroots journalism: decentralising information by helping local citizen journalists create their own regional content through a network covering issues directly relating to local residents.
The project continues, and the aim is to have 15 regional blogs running by the end of this year.
4.33pm: Some more albeit sketchy details are emerging on the two journalists, initially believed to be Algerian, who were killed in Syria yesterday (see 1.27pm).
Sarah Giaziri from the Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance newsgatherers, said a Syrian fixer told her the two men were in fact British nationals, although this can not be confirmed at present. There was another man with them, also reportedly a British national of Algerian origin who is reportedly in hospital in Antakya.
They were described as being in their late 20s/early 30s.
The UK foreign office said:
We are aware of reports and looking into them.
Giazari said (all of what she said is based on a conversation with a Syrian fixer who was present):

There was a group of 50 people being smuggled across the across. The three Algerians are British nationals and among these people were [other] English-speaking journalists. They were staying at some safehouse when it came under shelling. They all fled but they [the three] went back to get there equipment and that is when they [the two] were killed.
Giazari added that they have not been confirmed to be journalists but that they had camera equipment and said they wanted to go to Idlib to film a documentary about the humanitarian situation. They spoke only broken Arabic and communicated with each other in English, she said. They were not affiliated to any media organisation.
5.05pm: Here's a summary of the main developments so far today.
• Bashar al-Assad has accepted a plan by UN envoy Kofi Annan to end the bloodshed in Syria, a spokesman for Annan said. The plan includes commitments to end the violence, allow humanitarian assistance and allow protests.
• A member of the opposition Syrian National Council welcomed the government's acceptance of the peace plan. Bassma Kodmani told the Associated Press of her hope that "we can move toward a peace process".
• Syria's state-run news agency is reporting that President Assad has travelled the Baba Amr district of Homs "to inspect conditions there", the Associated Press says. Baba Amr was the site of a month-long siege by government forces before opposition fighters were driven out. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting there, activists said.