The Syrian regime has escalated attacks on civilians as the deadline loomed to begin a UN-brokered peace deal to withdraw forces from urban areas.

A last-minute demand by the Syrian government is rejected by the opposition, throwing a ceasefire planned to take effect from Tuesday into disarray.

More than 100 people are reported to have been killed by the latest wave of government attacks in Syria, just days before the deadline for a ceasefire.

Syria’s regime has declared a defeat of rebel forces, as Saudi Arabia announced it is a “duty” to arm opposition groups.

The UN-Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis, Kofi Annan, has warned of an “escalation” of the conflict to the rest of the Middle East unless it is handled carefully.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama will discuss Syria and Afghanistan when they meet at the White House.

The bodies of 47 women and children have been found dead in the Syrian city of Homs in a “massacre” being blamed on the Assad regime.

At least 45 women and kids were killed in Homs, opposition activists said, after the U.N. special envoy to Syria and the country’s leader discussed ending violence.

Syria’s deputy oil minister says he is resigning and joining the anti-government revolt, denouncing President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown as “brutal”.

China has urged the Syrian government and rebels to immediately end all acts of violence, after the bodies of two Western journalists who were killed in the country were handed over to the French ambassador and a Polish diplomat in Damascus.