Scores reported killed in two Syrian cities

Al-Jazeera reports: "Dozens of people have been killed in two flashpoint cities in Syria, opposition activists say, hours after the UN special envoy to Syria met the country's president in an effort to reach a diplomatic solution to end the violence. The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), a network of opposition activists, said at least 45 women and children were killed on Monday morning in the Karm al-Zaytoun neighbourhood of Homs. Separately, in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syrian government troops shelled several areas as part of a campaign to crush the opposition in its stronghold along the border with Turkey. Opposition activists said on Monday that 25 people were killed in Idlib."

Meanwhile, a Turkish government official said that at least 189 Syrians had crossed into Turkey since Saturday, fleeing the assault on Idlib. The official in Ankara, the Turkish capital, told the AFP news agency that more were likely to continue to cross over. In other parts of the country, the LCC said on Monday that five people were killed in Damascus suburbs, five in Aleppo, one in Damascus city, one in Latakia and one in Deraa.

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