Syrian activists: Homs calm as observers expected

Beirut: Activists say fighting and government shelling has stopped in Syria's central city of Homs in advance of an expected visit by UN observers.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Homs is peaceful for the first time in more than a week.

Salim Qabani, an activist based in the central province of Homs, said on Saturday that troops are hiding armoured vehicles.

He says tanks were pulled off the streets and into a police base. A UN-brokered cease-fire that technically went into effect last week has been steadily unraveling.

Regime forces had shelled rebel-held neighborhoods in Homs and opposition fighters were reported to have ambushed government troops.

The Observatory said they had no reports of violence through most of Syria on Saturday.