Qatari Prime Minister and head of state Hamad ben Jassem and Secretary General of Arab League Nabil al-Arabi. The League says it will maintain sanctions imposed on Syria. Photograph: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images

5.57pm GMT / 12.57pm EST: Here's a summary of today's main developments:

Syria

• .Violence appears to be increasing in the central city of Homs, with 31 people killed so far in Syria today, all but one in Homs,. according to activists. The Syrian Observatory of Human rights said the bodies of 34 people killed by pro-Assad militia were dumped in a square in the restive city on Monday. The violence in Homs has become increasingly sectarian, with it-for-tat attacks pitting majority Sunnis against members of President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite sect, according to AP. The reports of deaths cannot be independently verified

• The US ambassador, who was withdrawn from Damascus for his own safety, is returning to Syria. The announcement came as Hillary Clinton was meeting members of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) in Geneva. The US state department said Ford, who was withdrawn for his own safety, would demonstrate "that the United States stands with the people of Syria".Clinton stressed the need to protect minorities after democratic transition "regardless of sect or ethnicity or gender".

• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that the Assad regime has lost control of about a tenth of Syria. Rami Abdulrahman, head of the UK-based group, also told the Guardian a "civilian war" was now a reality in the country. As if to confirm what Abdulrahman said Syrian state media claimed its border guards blocked 35 "armed terrorists" from crossing into the country from Turkey, where the renegade Free Syrian Army (FSA) is based, after a gun battle. Meanwhile, the FSA FSA said it killed 22 troops by bombing two buses carrying troops in Hama. It said the attack was launched in retaliation for the kidnapping of civilians by the security forces. However, the SNC claimed the FSA is sticking to an agreement to stop launching attacks on the regular army.

• At least 34 people have been abducted and killed by pro-government militias in the city of Homs. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted witnesses as saying the bodies had been found dumped in a square in the restive city. The observatory said Monday was one of the bloodiest days since the uprising began with 50 people killed.

• The Arab League said it will maintain sanctions imposed on Syria, after Bashar al-Assad's government demanded the removal of the measures as a condition for admitting observers, Bloomberg reports. The League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi suggested he was not prepared to bargain on the issue. The League "will not lead to suspending Arab sanctions on Syria," he said.

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