Syria UN observers begin work as fighting continues

The first observers from the UN are starting work in Syria, where they are monitoring a fragile ceasefire.

A UN spokesman told the BBC that the six-strong advance party would make contact with the Syrian government and opposition, before beginning fieldwork.

More observers are expected to arrive later on Monday. Numbers will build up to about 30 by the end of the week.

Violence has continued despite the truce, with about 25 people reportedly dying on Sunday, many of them in Homs.

Activists said security forces had stepped up their shelling of opposition strongholds in the central city. Video footage showed explosions at times at the rate of six a minute in the Khaldiya district.

In the city of Hama, in central Syria, two people were killed by security forces on Monday, opposition activists said.

The claims have not been independently verified.