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At least 17 people were killed overnight in Syria as the town where the uprisings began was shelled.
Activists said 10 women were among the dead in the town of Deraa, in the south of the country.
The latest killings happened as Channel 4 News chief correspondent Alex Thomson claimed Syrian rebels tried to lead him and his colleagues into a trap so they would be killed by government forces, to discredit the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Yesterday there were also fresh clashes in Homs and Damascus as both sides ignored the U.N. backed ceasefire.
Uprisings against President Assad's regime erupted in Deraa 15 months ago, the site of the latest deaths.
Alex Thompson, Channel 4 News's chief correspondent, said he was driven out into the centre of no-man's land was a deliberate move by rebels to get them killed
'We didn't sleep all night, the situation is a mess, all kinds of explosions and heavy weapons,' a Deraa resident who called himself Adnan, said via Skype.
'We could hear the blast from the rockets hitting in the neighbourhood nearby. If we were afraid, you can imagine how afraid our children are.'
Two massacres of civilians in the last two weeks have added urgency to talks between foreign powers on what to do since the ceasefire, supposed to take effect on April 12, has failed to stop the violence.
Last night Channel 4 correspondent Alex Thomson said a group from the Free Syrian Army led his team into the line of fire because dead journos are bad for Damascus.
He said his vehicle was shot at before the team managed to floor it back to the road wed been led in on.
He wrote: Suddenly four men in a black car beckon us to follow. We move out behind. We are led another route. Led in fact, straight into a free-fire zone. Told by the Free Syrian Army to follow a road that was blocked off in the middle of no-mans land.
'At that point there was the crack of a bullet and one of the slower three-point turns Ive experienced. We screamed off into the nearest side-street for cover. Another dead-end. There was no option but to drive back out on to the sniping ground and floor it back to the road wed been led in on.
Predictably the black car was there which had led us to the trap. They roared off as soon as we re-appeared.
Im quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian army. Dead journos are bad for Damascus.
His comments on the Channel 4 website came as clashes were reported near the centre of the Syrian capital, while UN monitors finally reached the hamlet of Mazraat al-Qubeir where up to 78 people, including women and children, were reportedly killed by militia loyal to Assad two days earlier.
Witnesses have described appalling scenes and evidence of bloodshed, with reports of the smell of burnt flesh, torched buildings and human brains scattered around the small farming enclave, where about 150 people had lived.
However, by the time international observers arrived there were no bodies left in the area, and tracks apparently made by military vehicles were clearly visible. The team had come under fire, which prevented it from reaching the scene sooner.
The deaths of several journalists, including Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times, apparently at the hands of Assads forces, has focused international outrage on the Syrian regime.
The incident recounted by Thomson, who is now back in the UK, happened last weekend.
He said his suspicions over the rebels were strengthened when, half an hour later, our four friends in the same beaten-up black car suddenly pulled out of a side-street, blocking us from the UN vehicles ahead.
He wrote: In a war where they slit the throats of toddlers, whats the big deal in sending a van full of journalists into the killing zone? It was nothing personal.
Yesterday peace envoy and former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan met US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to discuss his plan to end more than a year of violence in the country, as Syrian troops reportedly launched a blitz on a rebel-held neighbourhood in the central city of Homs.
The developments came as a survey by YouGov showed substantial public support in Britain and the US for military action to secure a Libya-style no-fly zone in Syria but little backing for a ground assault.
At least 17 killed in Syria as Channel 4 news reporter says he was 'deliberately set up to be shot'
Activists said 10 women were among the dead in the town of Deraa, in the south of the country.
The latest killings happened as Channel 4 News chief correspondent Alex Thomson claimed Syrian rebels tried to lead him and his colleagues into a trap so they would be killed by government forces, to discredit the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Yesterday there were also fresh clashes in Homs and Damascus as both sides ignored the U.N. backed ceasefire.
Uprisings against President Assad's regime erupted in Deraa 15 months ago, the site of the latest deaths.
Alex Thompson, Channel 4 News's chief correspondent, said he was driven out into the centre of no-man's land was a deliberate move by rebels to get them killed
'We didn't sleep all night, the situation is a mess, all kinds of explosions and heavy weapons,' a Deraa resident who called himself Adnan, said via Skype.
'We could hear the blast from the rockets hitting in the neighbourhood nearby. If we were afraid, you can imagine how afraid our children are.'
Two massacres of civilians in the last two weeks have added urgency to talks between foreign powers on what to do since the ceasefire, supposed to take effect on April 12, has failed to stop the violence.
Last night Channel 4 correspondent Alex Thomson said a group from the Free Syrian Army led his team into the line of fire because dead journos are bad for Damascus.
He said his vehicle was shot at before the team managed to floor it back to the road wed been led in on.
He wrote: Suddenly four men in a black car beckon us to follow. We move out behind. We are led another route. Led in fact, straight into a free-fire zone. Told by the Free Syrian Army to follow a road that was blocked off in the middle of no-mans land.
'At that point there was the crack of a bullet and one of the slower three-point turns Ive experienced. We screamed off into the nearest side-street for cover. Another dead-end. There was no option but to drive back out on to the sniping ground and floor it back to the road wed been led in on.
Predictably the black car was there which had led us to the trap. They roared off as soon as we re-appeared.
Im quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian army. Dead journos are bad for Damascus.
His comments on the Channel 4 website came as clashes were reported near the centre of the Syrian capital, while UN monitors finally reached the hamlet of Mazraat al-Qubeir where up to 78 people, including women and children, were reportedly killed by militia loyal to Assad two days earlier.
Witnesses have described appalling scenes and evidence of bloodshed, with reports of the smell of burnt flesh, torched buildings and human brains scattered around the small farming enclave, where about 150 people had lived.
However, by the time international observers arrived there were no bodies left in the area, and tracks apparently made by military vehicles were clearly visible. The team had come under fire, which prevented it from reaching the scene sooner.
The deaths of several journalists, including Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times, apparently at the hands of Assads forces, has focused international outrage on the Syrian regime.
The incident recounted by Thomson, who is now back in the UK, happened last weekend.
He said his suspicions over the rebels were strengthened when, half an hour later, our four friends in the same beaten-up black car suddenly pulled out of a side-street, blocking us from the UN vehicles ahead.
He wrote: In a war where they slit the throats of toddlers, whats the big deal in sending a van full of journalists into the killing zone? It was nothing personal.
Yesterday peace envoy and former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan met US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to discuss his plan to end more than a year of violence in the country, as Syrian troops reportedly launched a blitz on a rebel-held neighbourhood in the central city of Homs.
The developments came as a survey by YouGov showed substantial public support in Britain and the US for military action to secure a Libya-style no-fly zone in Syria but little backing for a ground assault.
At least 17 killed in Syria as Channel 4 news reporter says he was 'deliberately set up to be shot'
