Children reported killed in Syria

(Vatican Radio) Activists in Syria say a government jet has dropped a cluster bomb on a playground, leaving 10 children dead. Video posted online showed children's bodies on the ground with their mothers grieving over them. Opposition activists said that the children were killed when a MiG fighter bombed a playground in the village of Deir al-Asafir, east of Damascus. Intensive fighting has continued around the capital. Rebel fighters captured at least part of an airbase. In recent months there have been mounting allegations that the Syrian government has resorted to using cluster bombs as the conflict intensifies.

Activists say Syrian opposition forces trying to end President Assad's autocratic rule have been gradually expanding their territory around Damascus, despite being heavily outgunned by government forces that remain entrenched in the capital. Syria's government describes the rebels as foreign-backed terrorists. The rebellion began in March 2011 with pro-democracy protests against Mr. Assad before evolving into a civil war. France and Russia are expected to tackle disagreements about the Syria conflict when Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visits Paris this week. Medvedev will head a delegation of ministers to meet French president Francois Hollande on Tuesday.

Listen to the report by correspondent Nathan Morley: