A Bahraini court on Monday jailed 10 Shiites for marching on the capital's former Pearl Square, the focal point of a month-long uprising crushed last year, a judicial source said.

They were arrested in February during protests marking the first anniversary of the month-long Shiite-led uprising against the Sunni monarchy which was crushed by force in mid-March 2011.

Bahrain's interior ministry said on Monday that jailed activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on a hunger strike for two months, is in "good health" after his lawyer expressed fears he could be dead.

"Abdel Hadi al-Khawaja's state of health is good," the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that the activist had been transferred to a military hospital "for the best medical treatment."

Two Syrians among a group of 17 who were wounded when their village was shelled overnight died after crossing the border into nearby Turkey, an official said Monday.

Two other Syrians and a Turkish translator were wounded near a refugee camp in the same area when shots were fired from Syria, as border tension escalated ahead of a visit by top international mediator Kofi Annan.

The Syrian rebel army said Monday it is ready to respect a truce brokered by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan if the regime of President Bashar Assad abides by the peace deal.

"We have announced that we will cease operations against the army of the regime on the morning of April 10, and we will respect this pledge if the regime commits to respecting the terms of the (U.N.) plan," Free Syrian Army spokesman Colonel Kassem Saadeddine said in a statement received by AFP.

China on Monday urged Syria to honor its ceasefire commitment, after Damascus said it wanted guarantees from armed rebels before it pulled back its troops from protest hubs.

The Syrian army was scheduled to withdraw from protest cities on Tuesday under a peace deal brokered by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, with a complete end to fighting set for 48 hours later.

Syrian security forces and pro-regime militias have executed more than 100 civilians and rebel fighters in attacks on protest hubs since late 2011, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

Many of the summary and extrajudicial executions were carried out last month, and at least 85 of those killed were residents who never took part in fighting, including women and children, said the New York-based watchdog.

The international mediator for Syria, Kofi Annan, was due in Turkey Tuesday for a visit to Syrian refugee camps near the border, a Turkish diplomatic source said Monday.

"The visit will only last a few hours, ahead of Annan's trip to Iran," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

At least 24 people were killed Monday as Al-Qaida militants raided an army barracks, the latest in a spate of attacks by the terror network which has boosted its presence across Yemen's lawless south and east.

"Fifteen Al-Qaida gunmen were killed in clashes with members of the 111th Brigade in Loder in Abyan province," a stronghold of the terror network, the Defense Ministry 26sep.net reported.

An explosion on Monday hit a pipeline which supplies Egyptian gas to Israel and Jordan, marking the 14th such attack since 2011, security officials said.

According to witnesses, masked gunmen in two cars dug a hole near the pipeline in the al-Midan area close to the north Sinai town of al-Arish, placed the explosives inside and detonated them remotely.

Belgium said Sunday that humanitarian intervention in Syria under the protection of military forces would be needed if the regime of Bashar Assad pursues the "path of barbarism".

"The regime has taken the path of barbarism and I trust President Bashar Assad less and less," said Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders on TV5 television.