19 killed in fresh violence in Syria

At least 19 people were killed in violence on Tuesday in Syria, where clashes between regime troops and rebels raged, monitors said, as envoy Kofi Annan held talks with President Bashar al-Assad.

In central Homs province, seven civilians were killed overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Three of them died when the army shelled the outskirts of restive Qusayr, while four died in the city of Homs.

One of those killed in Homs was filmmaker and photography student Bassel Shehade, who returned to Syria from the United States around three months ago, according to a Facebook page set up by activists. His killing at the hands of regime forces was an act of 'treason to humankind,' the page said.

In northern Aleppo province, rebels and regime forces clashed on the edge of Atarib town on Monday night, the Britain-based Observatory said. In Damascus province, clashes broke out between rebels and regime forces after the army raided two areas, Al-Halala and the outskirts of Qatna. The brother of a rebel fighter was killed, the rights watchdog said, adding that dozens were badly wounded. Also in Damascus province, a civilian was killed in Ain Tarma village by regime forces' gunfire. In central Hama, two civilians were reportedly killed by sniper fire, while two regular army troops were killed in northeastern Raqqa. In northwestern Idlib province, a civilian was shot dead in Maaret al-Numan village, where rebels and regime troops also clashed, injuring five regular soldiers.

The violence raged on the second day of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's visit to Syria, where more than 280 people have been killed since Friday, according to a toll compiled by AFP based on Observatory figures. 

Meanwhile, Annan met on Tuesday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for crunch talks in which he is expected to convey international outrage over the Houla massacre of more than 100 people.

On his arrival in Damascus on Monday, the UN and Arab League peace envoy called the 'tragic' massacre in the central region 'an appalling moment with profound consequences.'

'I intend to have serious and frank discussions with President Bashar Al-Assad. I also look forward to speaking with a range of other people while I am here,' he told reporters on Monday.

Australia on Tuesday expelled Syria's top diplomat over the 'hideous and brutal' massacre at Houla of more than 100 people, with Foreign Minister Bob Carr saying he expected other countries to follow suit. UK did the same.

In Berlin, the German government said it would expel the Syrian envoy in protest against the Houla massacre, local media reported. Pope Benedict XVI has called for religious communities in Syria to cooperate to bring peace to the violence-wracked country. He said he was pained by the recent massacre in Syria that killed more than 100 people including 49 children.

'This massacre causes pain to the Holy Father,' the Vatican's spokesman said.