At least 10 people have been killed after Syrian forces barraged an eastern city with mortar shells as anti-government protesters were dispersing, while clashes have broken out elsewhere in the country, activists said, according to Belfast Telegraph.

The violence comes as President Bashar Assad's regime faces mounting international pressure over brutal tactics against the opposition, with the UN accusing the government of using children as young as nine years old as human shields. The report also said children have been victims of detention, torture and sexual violence.

Bloodshed has soared in recent weeks with an increase in attacks as both sides ignore an internationally brokered ceasefire which was supposed to take effect on April 12 but never took hold. The U.S. and its allies have also shown little appetite for getting involved in another Arab nation in turmoil.

The Local Co-ordination Committees activist group and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a mortar attack in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour hit protesters as they were dispersing before dawn. The barrage came hours after a car bomb killed a dozen people in the city, which is close to the border with Iraq.

Both groups also reported hostilities in areas including the central province of Homs, the northern regions of Idlib and Aleppo and areas around the capital Damascus and the southern province of Daraa.