(Reuters) - Opposition activists accused Syrian troops of shelling two cities on Tuesday in a campaign to weaken forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad's government before a ceasefire deadline next week.Rebel fighters also kept up their attacks, killing three soldiers in separate actions in northern Syria, activists said.
Assad has agreed to a ceasefire negotiated by international peace envoy Kofi Annan from April 10, the latest effort to end a year of bloodshed stemming from an uprising against his rule.
An advance team from the U.N. peacekeeping department is due in Damascus this week to see how observers can monitor the truce, Annan's spokesman said in Geneva.
But Syrian opposition figures as well as Western governments have made clear they are not convinced that Assad, who has failed to honor past commitments, would keep his word. Read More
