4 Dead as Syrian Troops Shell Massacre Town

Rights activists say Syrian forces have again attacked the central area of Houla where more than 100 people were massacred last week.

U.N. monitors based in nearby Homs city were traveling to Houla to verify the reports of renewed attacks, said Damascus-based U.N. spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh.

In an Internet statement published Thursday, a commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army gave Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a deadline of noon Friday local time to start acting on commitments made to international peace envoy Kofi Annan.

Rebel Colonel Qassim Saadeddine said his forces would no longer be bound by the Annan peace plan if the Syrian president fails to comply.