A mortar round hit the Vatican embassy in Damascus on Tuesday morning, damaging the building but causing no casualties, a diplomat told Agence France Presse.

A mortar round hit the Vatican embassy in Damascus on Tuesday morning, damaging the building but causing no casualties, a diplomat told Agence France Presse.

"A mortar round fell this morning at 6:30 am (0430 GMT) on the embassy rooftop, causing only material damage," said Giorgio Ghezza, counsellor at the papal nunciature.

Later, the apostolic nuncio to Syria, Archbishop Mario Zenari, told Vatican Radio that mortar rounds frequently hit central areas of the capital city.

"We do not know why it happened... We cannot say that the Vatican embassy was targeted," he said.

Zenari went on to say that the international community needs to strengthen its efforts to bring an end to the crisis.

"The Syrian people want that the violence should stop immediately," he said.

"They are fed up with this crisis."