Death Toll Rises Amid Fresh Clashes In Syria

Fresh fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels in Aleppo has killed at least 19 people and seriously wounded many others.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a government-held area of the city was shelled by rebel forces during rush hour.

Syrian state TV said a hospital was hit by one of the rockets.

A local doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, put the initial death toll at 12.

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Meanwhile, government forces have attacked rebel-held neighbourhoods, killing two people and wounding several others.

The Syrian army said it was repelling the "terrorist" attack and "appropriately returning fire".

Last week an airstrike on a hospital in a rebel-held part of Aleppo killed at least 50 people including several medical staff.

Doctors Without Borders - which helps support the hospital - condemned the attack as "outrageous" and "devastating".

:: Syria's Ceasefire Has Been Blown To Pieces

A ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia in February has deteriorated in recent weeks as the number of casualties escalates.

Syria's army has declared that the temporary truce does not apply to the northern city of Alelppo, where more than 250 civilians are estimated to have been killed in the past fortnight.

The United States, Moscow and the UN envoy on Syria are hoping Aleppo can be included in the agreement.

Speaking after a meeting with the UN envoy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a cessation of hostilities could be announced in Aleppo as early as Tuesday.

"I am hoping that in the near future, maybe even in the next few hours such a decision will be announced," Mr Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he hoped for more clarity in the next day or so on restoring a wider ceasefire.