Mortar shells rain down on neighbourhoods in the city of Homs.<br/> <br />The attacks are nothing new in this part of Syria, where government troops have been regularly bombarding rebels for months.<br/> <br />But now President Bashar al-Assad has assured the United Nations that these attacks will stop.<br/> <br />Assad said he will respect a ceasefire with rebels due to take effect from the morning of Thursday April 12th.<br/> <br />This amateur footage - which cannot be independently verified by Reuters - was purportedly shot on Wednesday, hours after Assad's assurances, and less than 24 hours before the truce.<br/> <br />Reports suggest that the military has remained on the offensive in a number of anti-Assad strongholds, rather than begin withdrawing.<br/> <br />Assad's forces have killed more than 9,000 people in the past year according to U.N. estimates, while Damascus says rebels have killed over 2,500 security personnel.<br/> <br />Simon Hanna, Reuters.
