French President Francois Hollande expressed hope on Monday that Lebanon's sovereignty and stability remain, calling on politicians to abide by the Baabda declaration.

According to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), Hollande contacted his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman to congratulate him on Easter Day, stressing the importance of implementing the dissociation policy.

The Golan's native Druze have remained fiercely loyal to Damascus through 46 years of Israeli occupation but as the Syrian civil war draws ever closer, it is dividing the tight-knit community.

With the sound of fighting between Damascus troops and rebels booming from just across the armistice line that separates them from their compatriots, some among the Golan's 20,000 Druze are beginning to question their longstanding devotion to the Syrian regime.

Syrian Christians marked a sombre Easter on Sunday, many having to observe the holy day in areas devastated by Syria's conflict, including in the northern hamlet of Ghassaniyeh.

The Christian town on the edge of Idlib province was once home to some 10,000 residents, all of them Catholics except six Muslim families.

The Syrian regime and rebel opposition forces on Sunday traded accusations of blame for a "massacre" of at least 10 people in the town of Tal Kalakh in the south of the conflict-ridden country.

"Last night, terrorists committed a new massacre against peaceful citizens in the city of Tal Kalakh in the Homs countryside, storming the Burj neighborhood and killing a number of citizens, including women and children," state news agency SANA reported.

Pope Francis prayed for a "political solution" in Syria in his first Easter Sunday message in front of a crowd in St Peter's Square.

The pope delivered his "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to Rome and the world from the same balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he made his first appearance after his momentous election to the papacy this month.

Pope Francis prayed for "reconciliation" on the Korean peninsula in his first Easter Sunday message in front of a crowd in St Peter's Square.

Latin America's first pontiff also issued an appeal for hostages held by militants in Nigeria and condemned human trafficking as "the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century".

Fierce fighting between Syrian rebels and regime forces has sparked an exodus of residents from the Sheikh Maqsoud district of the northern city of Aleppo, a watchdog group said on Sunday.

Violence also engulfed areas in and around Damascus, where children were among eight civilians killed in shelling of Kafar Batna village, while a missile slammed into Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus costing more casualties.

The kidnappers of Hussein Jaafar once again contacted his family in order to demand a ransom of $1 million, said various media outlets Sunday.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said that the abductors stated that even if the Jaafar clan kidnapped all the residents of the Bekaa town of Arsal, they will not release Hussein Jaafar without the complete ransom.

Head of the Marada Movement MP Suleiman Franjieh contacted on Saturday Syrian President Bashar Assad to inquire about his health.

The MP reassured that the Syrian president is doing well, denying recent reports of his assassination.

Syria's Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali stated on Saturday that he was not summoned by Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on the backdrop of Friday's Syrian assault against Lebanese territories, assuring that his country is “the party negatively affected by the incident”.

“I have answered this question before. There is an ongoing cooperation between the two states,” Ali firmly said after meeting with FM Mansour.