Syria's slingshot squadron: Dramatic pictures show rebels using homemade catapult to launch bombs at Assad's troops

• Government say four-day ceasefire would not work because rebels have no unified leadership to agree to it
• Activists estimate that 33,000 have been killed in 19 months of civil war
• Tens of thousands have fled country and crossed the border into Jordan
• Tensions are escalating with neighbouring Turkey

These dramatic pictures show a group of Syrian rebels using a makeshift catapult to attack government forces.
The primitive weapon appears to have been constructed using a metal road sign and elasticated cord.
Two men at a time operate the catapult on the deserted streets of Aleppo, one holding the frame while the other stretches the cord before releasing the homemade explosive.

Resourceful: The Free Syrian Army launch a homemade bomb during clashes with pro-government soldiers in wartorn Aleppo

Ferocious revolt: The rebels use what weapons they can make or find against government shelling, in streets strewn with rubble

Bitter feud: Bashar Assad's government has ignored the international envoy's call for a ceasefire, with no sign of respite 19 months into the fighting

The rebels have become increasingly resourceful over 19 months of civil war in the troubled country as they fight tooth and nail to bring down President Bashar Assad's regime.
The Syrian army, meanwhile, has been responding with artillery shelling and even banned cluster bombs, according to an international human rights group.
Tens of thousands of citizens have fled over the border into Jordan to escape the horrific violence, with activists claiming that more than 33,000 Syrians have now been killed.
Tensions are also escalating with Turkey, which wants to ban Syrian planes from its airspace because one was seen transporting weapons.
The Syrian government said today that the international envoy's call for a four-day holiday ceasefire would likely fail because the rebels fighting to topple Assad's regime have no unified leadership to agree to it. 

 

The envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, had asked Iranian officials to help broker a truce during the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, which falls later this month.
Syria's state-run Al-Thawra newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said today that the biggest obstacle to the truce was the lack of an authority to sign for the rebels.
'There is the state, represented by the government and the army on one front, but who is on the other front?' the paper asked in an editorial.
All international efforts to end Syria's civil war to date have failed. Both rebel and government forces have disregarded previous ceasefires, and the many rebel units fighting to topple the regime have no unified leadership. Many do not communicate with each other.
Brahimi, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, arrived in Beirut today for talks with Lebanese officials on how to resolve the crisis as part of a regional tour.
Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi said in statement to the state news agency that the government was waiting for Brahimi to come to Damascus to convey to officials there the results of his tour. It would welcome any 'constructive initiative,' Makdessi said.
It was unclear if Brahimi would travel to Damascus from Beirut.

People power: Another group using similar methods to attack Assad's army in pictures released just days ago