Army shelling kills 14 near Damascus: NGO

At least 14 people were killed in army shelling on a rebel village near the Syrian capital today, as violence raged in flashpoint areas of Damascus and in the central city of Homs, a watchdog said.
The shelling comes a day after a powerful car bomb rocked the district of Kafr Sousa in southwest Damascus.
The blast killed an unknown number of members of the security forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said that at least 14 people died in today's shelling.
"The number of people killed in Kafr Batna has risen to 14, including three women and three children, after regime troops shelled" the village, said the Observatory.

Kafr Batna is located in the Eastern Ghouta area east of Damascus, home to several rebel bastions.
In late spring, the army launched an unprecedentedly fierce onslaught on the area, aimed at cutting off rebel supply lines into Damascus.

The army has meanwhile kept up a bid to crush insurgents already operating in the capital.
Today, state television said the army has "restored security and stability in most of Jubar" in eastern Damascus.
The district has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks, and according to the Observatory, the army renewed shelling on the neighbourhood today.
Troops also shelled Qaboon in northeastern Damascus and Barzeh in the north, the group added.

In central Syria, rebels in besieged districts of Homs city held out, four days into an army assault in which Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah is also taking part, said the Observatory.
The army shelled the rebel neighbourhood of Khaldiyeh while clashes raged in Bab Hud, the Observatory said, adding that an unknown number of fighters on both sides were wounded.
"They shelled Bab Hud and dozens of troops tried to break in, though the rebels held them out. The same happened on Cairo Street in Khaldiyeh," Homs-based activist Yazan told AFP via the Internet.
More than 100,000 people have died in Syria's raging war, which broke out more than 27 months ago when a peaceful movement for change morphed into an insurgency after the army unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent.

Yesterday alone, at least 82 people were killed across Syria, the Observatory said.
Millions of people have been displaced as a result of the war, and poverty has ravaged the country.