Four days after a ceasefire was meant to take effect in Syria, violent attacks persist.

This video that activists posted to a social media website purports to show heavy shelling in the battered city of Homs.

Syrians in the hard-hit district of Khalidiya said shells were coming in at a rate of one per minute.

Reuters is unable to independently verify the content of this footage.

Despite the continued violence, there has been a significant drop in the daily death toll - which had at times topped 100.

Syrian authorities continue to blame the violence on what they describe as "terrorists" seeking to topple the country's leadership.

A six-person team of United Nations observers was due to deploy in blue helmets on Monday to monitor the ceasefire that is yet to take hold.

Travis Brecher, Reuters