Syrian Troops Strike Near Damascus

The suburbs of Syria’s capital saw shelling and other violent activity by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime Sunday, activists said. Even as the United Nations voted Saturday to send hundreds of extra observers to the country to maintain a fragile ceasefire, activists reported that violence often ceases in an area where U.N. observers are present, only to continue elsewhere. The shelling Sunday was in a suburban district outside the Syrian capital where opposition forces and Assad’s troops have clashed in the past, and at least two people were reportedly killed.