Activists:200 dead in government assault

Syrian activists are describing what could be one of the bloodiest episodes in the nearly 11-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule.

The activists say government forces hammered neighborhoods in the city of Homs for hours with mortars and artillery, killing more than 200 people. Homs is Syria's third-largest city and has been a focal point for anti-government protests.

Thousands attended a funeral ceremony in a city park today for about 60 of the victims of the bombardment. Photos posted online by activists showed lines of dozens of coffins and bodies wrapped in white shrouds amid a crowd of mourners.

Thousands more protested across Syria in solidarity in Homs. A protester in a Damascus suburb held a banner reading: "Homs, your blood will not go in vain."

Assad's regime has denied the assault, calling the reports part of a "hysterical campaign" of incitement by armed groups against the government aimed at a pressuring the United Nations to act.