Syria warns West against intervention

Angelique wrote:Panda

This quote from your previous post:

"Where is the honor in killing your countrymen? Where is the national allegiance? The nation is all the people, not one person in particular," he said. "The allegiance is to the people, not to a dictator who kills his people."

I saw this on the news this evening and I thought it's first time I have heard anyone speaking sense about this whole affair.

If something is not done to halt the fighting I am wondering if the US will go in.

Morning Angelique, I doubt whether the U.S. or U.K. would want to get involved by sending troops in after Libya and Afghanistan proved not only costly
in the loss of life but ineffectual. The UN has proved toothless and of course Russia has interests in Syria so would veto anything. The only hope is that the latest Senior Syrian to defect has urged the Syrian Army to follow suit otherwise Civil War lasting Years will be inevitable. Add to this the growing
refugees sheltering in Turkey, Jordan and the Yemen , the situation is dire.

(CNN) -- An opposition group reported Thursday that government forces have carried out a "massacre" in Hama province, killing 220 people there. Most of the killings occurred in the village of Tremseh, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

The day's death toll nationwide reached 287, making it the bloodiest day in Syria since the uprising against the government began 16 months ago, the opposition group told CNN.

As it has done consistently, Syrian state television blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the killings, accusing them of having shot "indiscriminately at the people of Al-Tremseh village in Hama suburbs. And after calls from the people of the village, the security forces clashed with the terrorist groups, arresting a number of them and confiscated their weapons."

Activists in the city of Hama told CNN that witnesses inside Tremseh told them by telephone that Syrian military forces had launched a full-scale attack against the opposition Free Syrian Army inside the town, which was surrounded by government tanks and artillery.

The forces had shelled the town continuously from 5 a.m. until noon, when their tanks entered the village, three activists told CNN separately. None of them was willing to be identified publicly.

Syrian army forces, whose numbers were bolstered by the pro-regime militias called "shabeha," accompanied the tanks into Tremseh, they said. As the government forces rained artillery rounds into the town, a number of village residents fled their houses into the streets, where many of them were shot dead by the government militias, the activists told CNN in separate telephone interviews.

CNN is not able to confirm their accounts because Western journalists have limited access to the country.

The violence was also occurring farther south, in the capital, where 12 people were killed, the LCC said. The Damascus neighborhood of Shaghour was under siege by government forces, whose snipers were occupying the roofs of buildings, the LCC said.

In the capital city's suburb of Naher Aisha, government forces opened fire on a group of people who were demonstrating in condemnation of the Tremseh killings, LCC said.

The carnage came as a top Syrian diplomat who defected Wednesday said in an interview broadcast Thursday that he has sympathized with the opposition movement since it began in March 2011, but had held out hope that President Bashar al-Assad would change course.


U.S. elections impeding Syrian peace?
Russian warships to Syria
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Russia wouldn't oppose intervention "I am from Day One with the revolution," Nawaf al-Fares, the former Syrian ambassador to Iraq, told Al Jazeera Arabic. "Due to the political and personal circumstances, just a few people knew about that."

Al-Fares added, "I had hope, and I was in direct contact with President Bashar. He is now the former Syrian president, because he is a criminal and he is killing the Syrian people."

Syrian government authorities said al-Fares has been "relieved of his duties."

Al-Fares is the second high-profile Sunni official to break with the regime in a week. Manaf Tlas, a Republican Guard brigadier general and the son of a former defense minister, defected last week to protest the killing of civilians by government forces.

The moves might be a sign that Sunni allies of the Alawite-dominated regime are displeased with the government's fierce crackdown on an opposition dominated by Sunnis.

According to the official Syrian Arab News Agency, al-Fares was sworn in as Syrian ambassador to Iraq in 2008.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said al-Fares went to the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Iraqi state TV reported. The Qatari government has been sharply critical of al-Assad's regime.

Al-Fares "made statements contrary to his job duty to defend the positions of the country and its issues, which requires legal accountability and discipline," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement said he "no longer has anything to do" with the Syrian Embassy in Baghdad or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Syria's detached and deluded elite?

Al-Fares also announced his defection from the ruling Baath party, becoming the most senior member to leave. He is from Deir Ezzor, the eastern province that has been hammered lately by Syrian forces, and hails from a tribe along the Syrian-Iraqi border.

"To my brothers in the military, your military doctrine is to defend the homeland against external aggression and protect its borders," al-Fares said in a video statement given to the TV network Al Jazeera Arabic. It was unclear when the video was shot.

"So did your fathers, sons and sisters become the enemies now? And are they the ones who you should fight? Is that what you have learned in your military schools?"

Al-Fares said he was joining the revolution and called the government "malicious" and "the killer of the people."

The conflict in Syria has raged for 16 months, defying international peace efforts and leaving world leaders scrambling to find a solution.

Venezuelan diesel shipments to Syria fuel controversy

So did your fathers, sons and sisters become the enemies now? And are they the ones who you should fight?

Nawaf al-FaresAl-Assad's bloody crackdown on the opposition has sparked international outrage, but he still enjoys the support of allies such as Russia, Iran and China.

Russia and China, which are permanent U.N. Security Council members, have vetoed council draft resolutions that would have condemned the Syrian regime. Many other nations said such resolutions could have pushed al-Assad to stop the crackdown on dissidents seeking his ouster.

Meeting in private, the Security Council on Thursday discussed dueling draft resolutions on Syria. Ambassadors remain at odds primarily over whether a Western-backed resolution should invoke Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter, which could authorize sanctions and ultimately lead to an authorization of the use of force.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday she is hopeful that Russia will back a "serious" measure in the Security Council. But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said his government dislikes a recent council draft resolution from Western nations.

"We have stated repeatedly that Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter is unacceptable to us," Gatilov said, according to state-run RIA Novosti. "Using the resolution to justify the use of force in the future is absolutely unacceptable to us."

German U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig described the talks as "good, calm and focused," but noted the disagreement over Chapter 7.

Chinese and Russian delegates told reporters before the meeting that invoking Chapter 7 would not be acceptable.

Asked about the meeting, French Ambassador Gerard Araud said, "Before, we were 10 miles apart; now, we are 10 miles less five centimeters."

The discussions at the ambassador level were to resume Friday afternoon.

A vote on whether to renew the mandate for the 300-person U.N. observer force in Syria is at the heart of the discussions. The current mandate expires July 20.

Security Council President Nestor Osorio of Colombia said a "reference to Chapter 7 is just trying to put real material into Kofi Annan's plan."

Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general who is now an international U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, told the council Wednesday from Geneva that he needed the threat of consequences to win more cooperation inside Syria.

His six-point peace plan has failed to win support by all sides.

Opposition groups say more than 15,000 people have died since the violence began in March 2011.

Syrian ambassador to Iraq joins revolt, urges military to turn on regime

CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali, Richard Roth, Teresa Shen, Yousuf Basil, Salma Abdelaziz, Joe Sterling, Caroline Faraj and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.

07:34 AM ET
































Pressure valve off in al-Assad's Syria


By Fareed Zakaria

Over the past sixteen months of bloody conflict in Syria, observers have been waiting for one key development: top-level defections from within President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle. Suddenly, it seems a pressure valve has gone off. Pilots, ambassadors, and even one general have defected. What does it mean?

The general is Manaf Tlas, a childhood friend of Assad, and an officer in the elite Republican Guard.

Tlas’s father was chief of staff and then minister of defense, for 30 years, under Bashar’s father Hafez al-Assad. This is as close to the top of the Syrian regime as you might get. That’s why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took special note of Tlas.

“If people like him, and like the generals and colonels and others who have recently defected to Turkey are any indication, regime insiders and the military establishment are starting to vote with their feet,” she said.

But there are some crucial caveats. Tlas hadn’t been a member of al-Assad’s inner circle for a while – he had actually been under house arrest for more than a year.

Also, he was high ranking, but he wasn’t an Alawite. While Alawites make up only 12% of Syria’s population, they hold more than 80% of the positions in the powerful Republican Guard. They are the inner circle. According to some reports, when Sunnis are put on guard duty, there’s always an Alawite soldier assigned to monitor the Sunni soldiers.

Related: Reports of new massacre

But if the increasing number of top-level defections is a signal that the Sunni elite, which is comprised of generals, businessmen, bureaucrats and which has so far stuck with al-Assad, is now moving away from him, that’s a huge shift – and one that will ultimately bring down the regime.

There’s mounting evidence that the Sunnis are weakening in their support for the al-Assad regime. We’ve spoken with a former U.S. Marine Austin Tice. He’s now a law student and spending the summer reporting from Syria. On a recent embed with a rebel group, he said he found that the government’s helicopters flew so high that they couldn’t really aim their missiles; he also said he saw first-hand how hostile fire from al-Assad’s tanks and troops were poorly aimed and seemingly random. The suspicion among many rebels at the time, Tice says, was that the predominantly Sunni pilots and soldiers were deliberately missing their targets.

Related: A deluded elite in Syria?

Another telling indicator of dissent is the number of silent objectors in the army. According to the New York Times, a growing number of Syrian soldiers – many of whom lack the means to flee – are staying home. But to ensure their continued silence and neutrality, these officers continue to draw salaries and pensions.

Money is the main reason to believe that al-Assad's regime cannot last. Inflation is said to be as high as 30%. According to some reports, al-Assad and his cronies are freely printing money; the Syrian pound has depreciated against the dollar by more than half on the black market. Meanwhile, the regime is running out of cash. Ninety percent of Syria’s oil used to go to the European Union, but sanctions have put a stop to that. Tourism and trade have of course plummeted. And monetary support from Iran cannot be counted on indefinitely – Tehran itself is buckling under unprecedented sanctions.

And there was a report last week that Iran is weakening in its support for al-Assad. An Iranian ambassador gave an interview in a Tehran paper criticizing his government’s support for the Syrian regime and saying that al-Assad’s days were obviously numbered.

But there's one more piece to the puzzle – the growing strength of Syria’s opposition. The Free Syria Army is getting stronger. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are now openly arming the rebels, channeling through routes from Turkey, Lebanon, and now even Iraq. Rebel attacks have become more focused, running deeper into the two main cities Damascus and Aleppo. The various opposition groups are coming together to plan for a post-Assad Syria.

The question then is, what would such a Syria look like?


**** There is a dispuute as to whether the massacre of over 200 people was the work of Assad's Army, more to follow.

Syria Military 'Moves Chemical Weapons To Homs'Fears grow over claims the Syrian regime has moved chemical weapons to the Homs region.8:35am UK, Saturday 14 July 2012 Video: Sarin Use Would Break International Law
Enlarge Chemical weapons sites in Syria
EmailIntelligence has emerged suggesting the Syrian regime has moved chemical weapons to the Homs region, a source has told Sky News.

A senior British intelligence official was questioned about claims in the US that several streams of signal intelligence had been intercepted detailing the transfer of a chemical agent.

They said they believed the account to be a "pretty accurate description" of what the UK believes is going on.

Fox News reported a senior US defence source as saying it was not clear whether the movement of the agent, possibly Sarin nerve gas, had been authorised by President Bashar al Assad or local Syrian military commanders frustrated by the ongoing uprising in Homs.

The agents, which may not yet have been weaponised, were moved from previously known stockpile locations, the report said.


A Sarin attack on the Tokyo underground system in 1995 killed 13 people

Recent investigations by Sky News identified four sites where chemical agents are produced: Hama, Latakia, Al Safira and the Centre D'Etude et Recherche Scientifique laboratories in Damascus.

Storage sites were also found at Khan abu Shamat, Furqlus, Hama, Masyaf and Palmyra.

The US source was quoted as saying the Pentagon was particularly worried because Sarin can be used and released in canisters so there may not be weapons per se involved.

Also Sarin does not remain in the air after an attack so a lot of people could die and the regime would have "plausible deniability" that it had used a chemical agent, the source added.

According to Middle Eastern and other intelligence sources, Syria has the biggest stockpiles of Sarin and VX nerve gas, as well as mustard gas, in the Middle East.

Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the UK Ambassador to the UN, told Sky News he was unable to confirm the reports.

But he added: "Clearly, if there was an suggestion the Syrian regime might start using chemical weapons that would escalate things to a whole other level."

A single drop of Sarin can kill an adult. Some 13 commuters were killed when a religious sect released Sarin on the Tokyo metro system in 1995. A further 1,100 people were injured.

Sky's US correspondent Dominic Waghorn said: "The word of caution you have to add is we've heard similar claims from Israel - concerns about Syria's chemical weapons - and we've heard similar claims being made in London as well.

"This is at a time when the West is trying to put pressure on Russia and China to rally around a concerted effort to remove Assad from power, and anything that makes the situation in Syria look worse is possibly going to help that effort."

He added: "Although we know Syria does have weapons of mass destruction, unlike Iraq which was proven not to have had any after the conflict there, I think people listening to this will be sceptical of intelligence agencies talking about weapons of mass destruction."

Nations including Britain and America insisted Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion in 2003. None was ever found.

The UN Security Council must now decide the future of the mission before July 20, when its initial 90-day mandate expires.

Russia has proposed extending the mission for 90 days, but Britain, the United States, France and Germany countered with a draft resolution to extend the mission for just 45 days and place Kofi Annan's peace plan under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

Chapter 7 allows the council to authorise actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.

But Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Alexander Pankin said Moscow was "definitely against" Chapter 7.


***** Israel pointed out the large amount of chemical weapons Syria has, even their location and warned of the danger a couple of days ago.

14 July 2012 Last updated at 23:32 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page



The government attack on the Syrian village of Tremseh mainly targeted the homes of rebels and activists, the UN mission in the country has said.

It said heavy weaponry including artillery and mortars was used.

A UN spokeswoman issued a statement after inspectors visited the scene of Thursday's attack, in which at least 200 people are said to have died.

The BBC's Jim Muir says the initial findings seem to contradict earlier reports of a massacre of civilians.

Instead, the inspectors' preliminary findings are more in line with the government's claims that it was attacking what it calls "nests of terrorists" or rebel hideouts, our correspondent says.

'Blood spatters'

What appears to be certain is that government forces launched a major attack on Tremseh using heavy weapons, tanks and helicopters.

The use of such weapons is in violation of a commitment given to UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan by the Syrian authorities.

"A wide range of weapons were used, including artillery, mortars and small arms," UN spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh said in a statement.

"The attack on Tremseh appeared targeted at specific groups and houses, mainly of army defectors and activists.

"There were pools of blood and blood spatters in rooms of several homes together with bullet cases."


Observers saw damaged houses and a burned school in the village, 25km north-west of the city of Hama.

They said that the number of casualties was unclear and added that they intend to return to the village on Sunday.

The attack of Tremseh has sparked international condemnation, but Syria's government has insisted this was a military operation against rebels.

The government says its armed forces mounted a special operation after tip-offs from local people about large numbers of armed rebels operating from hideouts in the village.

A statement from the Syrian military said the hideouts had been destroyed, with a large number of rebel fighters - or "terrorists" as the government calls them - being killed, and dozens captured.

Some were paraded on state TV, which also showed large quantities of arms and ammunition it said were seized.

'Shocked and appalled'

Kofi Annan, special envoy to Syria, was among those who reacted angrily to the killings, saying he was "shocked and appalled".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the attack cast "serious doubt" on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's commitment to the peace plan, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested the Syrian army had "deliberately murdered civilians" in Tremseh.

Meanwhile, violence has continued elsewhere across Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that hundreds of soldiers backed by helicopter gunships were reported to be attacking Khirbet Ghazaleh, in the province of Deraa.

The Observatory reported that 28 people were killed across the country on Saturday, among them a pregnant woman. On Friday, 118 people were killed, the group said.

Reports of casualties often cannot be independently verified, as Syria severely restricts journalists' freedom of movement.

Some 16,000 people are thought to have been killed since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime began in March 2011.

The UN Security Council is currently debating the future of the UN observer mission in Syria, which is set to come to an end on 20 July.

Western nations want to increase the threat of sanctions in the new Security Council resolution on the future of the mission.

China and Russia remain opposed to any moves to threaten further sanctions.

(CNN) -- The head of a prominent Syrian opposition group says U.S. President Barack Obama should take greater action on Syria and not be worried about whether the "right decision" will hurt Obama's re-election campaign.

The plea comes after more than 200 people were reportedly massacred last week in the Syrian town of Tremseh.

"We want for America and the Western countries to carry out their responsibilities through the (U.N.) Security Council and work to adopt a resolution under Article 7 to force this regime to stop killing Syrians," Abdulbaset Sieda, chairman of the Syrian National Council, said in an interview to air Sunday on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS.

"With regard to America, specifically, we would like to say to President Obama that waiting for election day to make the right decision on Syria is unacceptable for the Syrians. We cannot understand that a superpower ignores the killing of tens of thousands of Syrian civilians because of an election campaign that a president may win or lose. That's why we are saying there is work that must take place at the Security Council."


Witness to slaughter in Syria
'Syria has become a schizophrenic place'
'Massacres in Syria send terror message'
Syria's chemical weapons
U.N. sets deadline for Syria The Obama administration has decried the Syrian regime and called for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. But previous attempts to pass resolutions condemning al-Assad's regime at the U.N. Security Council have failed due to vetoes from Russia and China.

If continued efforts at the Security Council fail, the United States and other countries "can move outside the scope of the Security Council," Sieda said.

While world leaders remain without a consensus about what to do about Syria, the death toll continued to escalate, opposition activists said.

At least 14 people were killed Sunday in cities across the country, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The deaths include five people killed by shelling in Hama and Deir Ezzor, the LCC said.

On Sunday, U.N. observers will return to the town of Tremseh, where opposition activists say more than 200 people were killed Thursday -- the deadliest day in Syria's 16-month crisis.

"The attack ... appeared targeted at specific groups and houses, mainly of army defectors and activists," said Sausan Ghosheh, spokeswoman for the head of the U.N. monitoring mission. "There were pools of blood and blood spatters in rooms of several homes together with bullet cases."

Ghosheh said Saturday that a wide range of weapons were used, including artillery, mortars and small arms, but the number of casualties in Tremseh was still unclear.

But on Sunday, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said what happened in Tremseh "was a military operation and not a massacre."

The Syrian regime has blamed "armed terrorist groups" for deaths in Tremseh, saying residents called security forces for help after the terrorist groups raided the town.

"Let me explain that Tremseh is a very small village that is no bigger than 1 (square) kilometer. It is quite absurd that there are some media outlets who were spreading rumors that the Syrian military dispatched 150 tanks in such a small area," Makdissi said, adding that claims of artillery shelling and the use of helicopters are "baseless."

Citing an unnamed source, the Foreign Ministry spokesman offered a much lower death toll from Tremseh than what opposition activists said.

"I can't release the name of one witness, but there was someone who declared that those were killed in Tremseh were 37 militants, and only two civilians were killed," Makdissi said.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, meanwhile, reported that two terrorists "confessed to taking part in a series of murders and acts of terrorism before the army entered the town" of Tremseh.

But the bloodbath in Tremseh prompted renewed international outrage against the Syrian regime and underscored the desperate need to find a solution to the conflict that has killed thousands.

Kofi Annan, the U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria, is scheduled to visit Moscow on Monday for two days of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Annan's spokesman said.

Annan brokered a six-point peace plan for Syria, which both the Syrian regime and rebels agreed to, but was never fully implemented. A key part of the plan calls for a cessation of violence "by all parties."

Since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011, the United Nations estimates more than 10,000 people have been killed in the violence; opposition groups say thousands more have died.

Sieda said it's important to remember that despite surging casualty tolls, each victim's death is a tragedy.

"We are dealing with numbers and forget that these people are human beings who have fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends."

Bus Blast In Syria As Civil War DeclaredReports say several people are hurt following the explosion, as the Red Cross insists the Syrian conflict is a civil war.2:51pm UK, Sunday 15 July 2012 Video: Red Cross Declare Syria A Civil War
Enlarge EmailAn explosion has hit a bus carrying security forces in the Syrian capital Damascus, reports said.

The powerful blast appeared to have been caused by an improvised explosive device that had been stuck onto the vehicle, witnesses have stated.

There were conflicting reports about the number of casualties, with activists claiming more than one member of the security forces was killed, but others said there were no dead, only several people wounded.

News of the explosion followed confirmation by the Red Cross (ICRC) that it now considers the Syrian conflict to be a full-blown civil war, meaning international humanitarian law applies throughout the country.

Previously, the ICRC had restricted its assessment to the hotspots of Idlib, Homs and Hama, but the organisation has determined that the hostilities have spread beyond those areas.

The assessment could prove significant as the violence continues, as it can form the basis for war crimes prosecutions, especially if civilians are attacked or detained enemies are abused or killed.

The Red Cross statement comes as UN observers prepare to return to a Syrian village to continue their investigations after confirming the community there was attacked with artillery, mortars and small arms.

Following a visit to Tremseh in Hama province, monitors said the assault mainly targeted rebels and opposition activists but added they could not confirm the number of dead and injured.


The UN said heavy weapons were used in Tremseh

Opposition activists claim up to 200 people were killed on Thursday in the attack by President Bashar al Assad's troops, backed by a pro-regime militia known as shabiha.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Rami Abdel Rahman, said he believed it "might be the biggest massacre committed in Syria since the start of the revolution" in March 2011.

The UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) said heavy weapons were used and homes burned, but stopped short of specifying who carried out the violence.

It is believed there may have been a fierce fight between the army and a number of deserters, with villagers caught in the crossfire.

The Syrian army said earlier it did launch an air and ground assault on Tremseh - but claimed only "terrorists" died in the operation.

Furthermore, the Syria government has rejected claims that heavy weapons were used, but admitted security forces killed 37 fighters and two civilians in a campaign against the village, from which the regime claims rebels were launching attacks on other areas.


Mr Makdissi, spokesman for Syria's foreign ministry

"Government forces did not use planes, or helicopters, or tanks or artillery. The heaviest weapon used was an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)," said Jihad Makdissi, spokesman for Syria's foreign ministry.

The UN observers' journey to the village comes even though the UNSMIS remains officially suspended after monitors repeatedly came under fire.

The UN Security Council also continues to debate the future of their presence in Syria, spurred by the July 20 expiration of its mandate.

Across the border in Turkey, hospitals treat injured Syrians and the country's prime minister has added his voice to the chorus of international condemnation of the Assad government.

"These vicious massacres, these attempts at genocide, these inhuman savageries are nothing but the footsteps of a regime that is on its way out," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Sooner or later, these tyrants with blood on their hands will go and the people of Syria will in the end make them pay."

Elsewhere, amid calls on Russia to support the removal of Mr Assad from office, the Kremlin has said President Vladimir Putin will meet the UN-Arab

SKY NEWS ON THE MOVING PANEL SAYS THEY IS SUPPOSEDLY HEAVY FIGHTING IN DAMASCUS

The BBC's Jim Muir says fighting has intensified in many parts of Syria
The Syrian capital Damascus has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the conflict so far, according to reports from activists and residents.

Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the suburbs as the army sought to drive out the Free Syrian Army.

The fighting came as UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan prepared to meet Russia's foreign minister for talks on the Syrian crisis.

Russia has been backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Mr Annan is expected to urge Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to put pressure on the Syrian authorities to begin a political transition, although BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg says there is little sign that the Kremlin is ready to do that.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said the conflict in Syria is now in effect a civil war.

It means combatants across Syria are now subject to the Geneva Conventions and could be liable for war crimes prosecution in the future.

The ICRC had previously regarded only the areas around Idlib, Homs and Hama as warzones.

'Residents fleeing'

The BBC's Jim Muir says clashes between government forces and Free Syrian Army rebels seem to be creeping ever closer to the heart of Damascus and the centre of the regime's power.

Tanks and mortars were reportedly used on the southern edge of the city, in areas like Tadhamon and Midan and around nearby Palestinian refugee camps.

Residents were said to be fleeing some areas, while in other parts of the city protesters blocked motorways with burning tyres.

The government has denied that it had used heavy weapons in its attack on the village of Tremseh on Thursday.

UN observers arrived in Tremseh as villagers claimed military forces had carried out indiscriminate attacks
Activists initially described fighting in Tremseh, which is near the city of Hama, as a massacre of dozens of civilians, but later accounts suggested most of the dead were armed rebels.

UN observers at the scene have said Syrian forces used heavy artillery, tanks and helicopters, but Damascus denies those allegations and said just two civilians had been killed.

The accusations, if proved, would mean Damascus had broken an agreement it made with UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Further pressure was put on the government of President Bashar al-Assad when the International Committee of the Red Cross, which oversees the Geneva Conventions, said fighting had now spread beyond the three hotspots of Idlib, Homs and Hama.

Spokesman Hicham Hassan said Syria was now regarded as a "non-international armed conflict", which is the technical term for civil war.

"What matters is that international humanitarian law applies wherever hostilities between government forces and opposition groups are taking place across the country," he said.

Geneva conventions

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the statement is significant because it is the Red Cross' job to monitor the conduct of the fighting, and to tell warring parties what their obligations are.

Under the Geneva Conventions, indiscriminate attacks on civilians, attacks on medical personnel or the destruction of basic services like water or electricity are forbidden and can be prosecuted as war crimes.

From now on, all those fighting in Syria are officially subject to the laws of war, and could end up at a war crimes tribunal if they disobey them.

The ICRC's announcement echoes both the UN's head of peacekeeping Herve Ladsous and President Assad, who has said the country is at war.

Some 16,000 people are thought to have been killed since the uprising against Mr Assad's regime began in March 2011.

UN diplomats are attempting to agree a way forward for the organisation's monitoring mission in the country.

The mission's mandate runs out on Friday, and Western nations are trying to get Russia and China to agree to a strengthened resolution authorising sanctions

The BBC's Jim Muir says fighting has intensified in many parts of Syria
Continue reading the main story
Syria conflictSyria killings: What we know
'Taking Syria to Hell'
Who are the shabiha?
Guide: Syria Crisis

The Syrian capital Damascus has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the conflict so far, according to reports from activists and residents.

Mortar and small-arms fire was reported in several areas as government forces clashed with the Free Syrian Army.

The fighting came as UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was to urge Russian leaders to put pressure on Damascus.

But Russia said it was being "blackmailed" by the West to get it to back a draft resolution on sanctions.

Speaking ahead of Mr Annan's visit, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the West had told Russia to back a draft resolution on sanctions or it would "refuse to extend the mandate of the observer mission".

It was "not right" to say that pressure should only be brought on the government of President Bashar al-Assad and not the opposition to end the conflict, he added.

"We do not support Assad," he said. "We support what has been agreed by all sides."

Mr Annan is expected to urge Mr Lavrov to persuade the Syrian authorities to begin a political transition, although BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg says there is little sign that the Kremlin is ready to do that.

Clashes in Tadhamon were said to be continuing on Monday morning
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said the conflict in Syria is now in effect a civil war.

It means combatants across Syria are now subject to the Geneva Conventions and could be liable for war crimes prosecution in the future.

The ICRC had previously regarded only the areas around Idlib, Homs and Hama as warzones.

'Residents fleeing'

The BBC's Jim Muir says clashes between government forces and Free Syrian Army rebels seem to be creeping ever closer to the heart of Damascus and the centre of the regime's power.

Mortars were reportedly used on the southern edge of the city, in areas like Tadhamon and Midan and around nearby Palestinian refugee camps.

Activists said clashes continued into the early hours of the morning.

A convoy of army reinforcements was reported to have been attacked by rebels in Kfar Sousa to the west, leading to further clashes there.

Residents were said to be fleeing some areas, while in other parts of the city protesters blocked motorways with burning tyres.

Continue reading the main story
Annan's six-point plan
1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people

2. End to violence by all sides; army troops to stop using heavy weapons and withdraw to barracks

3. Parties to allow humanitarian aid

4. Authorities to free political detainees

5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement for journalists

6. Authorities to allow peaceful demonstrations

There has been frequent trouble in these areas - barely three miles (4-5km) from the centre - for months.

But as with many of the suburbs ringing the city slightly further out, all the government's repeated efforts to stifle defiance have failed, our correspondent says.

The government has denied that it had used heavy weapons in its attack on the village of Tremseh on Thursday.

Activists initially described fighting in Tremseh, which is near the city of Hama, as a massacre of dozens of civilians, but later accounts suggested most of the dead were armed rebels.

UN observers at the scene have said Syrian forces used heavy artillery, tanks and helicopters, but Damascus denies those allegations and said just two civilians had been killed.

The accusations, if proved, would mean Damascus had broken an agreement it made with UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Further pressure was put on the government of President Bashar al-Assad when the International Committee of the Red Cross, which oversees the Geneva Conventions, said fighting had now spread beyond the three hotspots of Idlib, Homs and Hama.

Spokesman Hicham Hassan said Syria was now regarded as a "non-international armed conflict", which is the technical term for civil war.

"What matters is that international humanitarian law applies wherever hostilities between government forces and opposition groups are taking place across the country," he said.

Geneva conventions

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the statement is significant because it is the Red Cross' job to monitor the conduct of the fighting, and to tell warring parties what their obligations are.

Under the Geneva Conventions, indiscriminate attacks on civilians, attacks on medical personnel or the destruction of basic services like water or electricity are forbidden and can be prosecuted as war crimes.

From now on, all those fighting in Syria are officially subject to the laws of war, and could end up at a war crimes tribunal if they disobey them.

The ICRC's announcement echoes both the UN's head of peacekeeping Herve Ladsous and President Assad, who has said the country is at war.

Some 16,000 people are thought to have been killed since the uprising against Mr Assad's regime began in March 2011.

UN diplomats are attempting to agree a way forward for the organisation's monitoring mission in the country.

The mission's mandate runs out on Friday, and Western nations are trying to get Russia and China to agree to a strengthened resolution authorising sanctions

CNN iReport.

(CNN) -- Increasing violence in the Syrian capital is pointing toward a major fight ahead, a rebel spokesman told CNN Monday.

"The battle for Damascus is coming," said Abdulhameed Zakaria, a Syrian army colonel and doctor who defected and joined the opposition Free Syrian Army in Istanbul.

Video from the capital on Monday showed regime tanks in some streets and clashes with members of the opposition.

Video from activists in the central Damascus neighborhood of Medan showed people running and screaming amid loud sounds. It was unclear whether the blasts were gunshots or mortar fire.

State-run TV showed a woman driving a car in Medan saying there was "nothing going on right now."

Asked about reports that there was shelling in Medan, she responded, "No, nothing is happening, thank God." Apparent gunfire could be heard in the background as she spoke.

With violence spreading throughout the country, the Red Cross announced that the conflict is a civil war throughout the country.

The declaration officially applies the Geneva Conventions to violence throughout the country.

International humanitarian law now applies "wherever hostilities take place," the organization said Monday.

The announcement came just a few days after more than 200 people were massacred in the town of Tremseh, according to activists. It was the deadliest day of the conflict.

The government denies any such massacre, saying it conducted a military operation against "armed terrorist groups."

At least 50 people were killed Monday, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC).

The deaths include 14 in Hama, 12 in Homs, eight in Aleppo, six in Daraa, four in Damascus, three in Idlib, two in Deir Ezzor and one in the Damascus suburbs, the LCC said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross' mandate "stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949," the organization says on its website.

"Part of its legal mandate is to determine when international humanitarian law applies," ICRC spokesman Sean Maguire told CNN. "We make a determination as to whether a conflict exists."

The Red Cross does not use the general term "civil war," and instead declares a "non-international armed conflict."

In April, the organization declared such a conflict in Homs, Hama, and Idlib.

Now, hostilities have spread enough that the conflict exists throughout the country, Maguire said.

"In theory," he said, the Red Cross announcement could affect prosecutions by the International Criminal Court in the future. If a prosecuting authority is established for Syria, it could point to the announcement that the Geneva Conventions applied, and to ways that they were violated. However, for the court to look at the situation in Syria, a referral from the U.N. Security Council would be required, Maguire noted.

Russia and China -- which have deals with Syria -- have used their veto power to block some of the toughest draft resolutions against the Syrian regime in the Security Council.

Britain is pushing for a tough new resolution in the U.N. Security Council under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Chapter 7 resolutions are enforceable through sanctions or even military action.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western diplomats of "blackmail" to try to force Russia to get on board with the new draft.

"Unfortunately, we have seen some elements of blackmail. We're told if we don't agree to pass the resolution (under) Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter, they will not agree to extend the U.N. observers mandate," Lavrov said at a press conference before meeting with Kofi Annan, envoy to Syria for the United Nations and the Arab League.

"I consider it a totally counterproductive and a dangerous approach, because it is unacceptable to use the observers as the bargaining chip."

He slammed Western countries that are trying to change Russia's stance.

"The track record of those who try to make us step aside from this position has a lot of deplorable instances of unilateral military actions, and the results are well remembered by everybody," Lavrov said.

Russia has vowed to stop new arms sales to the country.

Numerous countries, including the United States, have criticized Russia, saying its actions in the Security Council have helped the Syrian regime continue a brutal crackdown on the opposition.

Many nations have expelled Syrian ambassadors. Morocco became the latest to do so Monday.

Syria responded by declaring Morocco's ambassador persona non grata.

Throughout the conflict, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has consistently blamed violence on "armed terrorist groups," and reported on its security forces "martyred" in attacks.

On state-run news agency SANA, Syria said authorities chased one such group in a Damascus suburb on Monday and clashed with others in Idlib and Deir Ezzor. In Aleppo, meanwhile, authorities "confronted gunmen," inflicting "heavy losses," SANA said.

State TV reported "heavy losses" among "terrorists who attacked border guards' stations in Salqin in Idlib suburbs," near the Turkish border.

CNN cannot confirm details of reported violence because Syria has restricted access to the country by international journalists.

Since the crisis began in March 2011, the United Nations estimates more than 10,000 people have been killed in the violence; opposition activists say more than 15,000 have died.

CNN's Josh Levs, Ivan Watson, Holly Yan, Ben Brumfield, Phil Black, and Samya Ayish contributed to this report.

Syrian rebels push war into capital Damascus

By BEN HUBBARD
Associated Press

Syrian rebels push war into capital Damascus
The progression in world views on Syria's conflict

Jordan opens new refugee camp for Syrians

Annan says agreement reached with Syria's Assad

Syrian opposition group: Death toll tops 17,000







BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian rebels fired grenades at tanks and troops while regime armor shelled Damascus neighborhoods on Monday, sending terrified families fleeing the most sustained and widespread fighting in the capital since the start of the uprising 16 months ago.

A ring of fierce clashes nearly encircled the heavily guarded capital as rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad pushed the civil war that has been building in Syria's impoverished provinces closer to the seat of power.

While the clashes were focused in a string of neighborhoods in the city's southwest, for many of its 4 million people the violence brought scarily close to home the strife that has deeply scarred other Syrian cities.

In high-end downtown cafes frequented by the business and government elite tightly bound to the Assad regime, customers watched as black smoke billowed on the horizon and the boom of government shells reverberated in the distance.

"Without a doubt, this is all anyone is talking about today," a Damascus activist who gave his name as Noor Bitar said via Skype. "The sounds of war are clear throughout the city. They are bouncing off the buildings."

Syria's violence has grown increasingly bloody and chaotic in recent months as the uprising has morphed from a peaceful protest movement seeking political change into an armed insurgency seeking to topple the regime by force.

Anti-regime activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed, and the government says it has lost more than 4,000 security officers. It does not provide numbers of civilian dead.

International diplomacy has failed to stop the violence, and world powers remain deeply divided over who is responsible and how to stop it. The U.S. and many Western nations have called on Assad to leave power, while Russia, China and Iran have stood by the regime.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of using blackmail to secure a U.N. Security Council resolution that could allow the use of force in Syria.

Lavrov objected to the text of a Western-backed resolution that calls for sanctions and invokes Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can be enforceable militarily.

He said Russia had been told that if it opposed the resolution, Western nations would not extend the mandate of a U.N. mission sent to Syria to monitor a cease-fire.

"We consider it to be an absolutely counterproductive and dangerous approach," Lavrov said.

International envoy Kofi Annan, who has made little progress in brokering a political solution in Syria, met Russian leaders in Moscow on Monday. The meeting - the latest in Annan's efforts to save his faltering peace plan - comes a day after the conflict crossed an important symbolic threshold, with the international Red Cross formally declaring it a civil war, a status with implications for potential war crimes prosecutions.

Monday's fighting suggested that deep cracks were appearing in the tightly controlled facade of calm that has insulated Damascus from violence throughout the uprising.

Damascus - and Syria's largest city, Aleppo - are both home to elites who have benefited from close ties to Assad's regime, as well as merchant classes and minority groups who worry their status will suffer if Assad falls.

But for months, rebels have been gaining strength in poorer towns and cities in the Damascus countryside. Some activists suggested Monday that recent government crackdowns in those areas had pushed rebels into the city, where they were determined to strike at the heart of the regime.

"It seems there is a new strategy to bring the fighting into the center of the capital," said activist Mustafa Osso. "The capital used to be safe. This will trouble the regime."

Another activist, who gave only his first name, Moaz, said he had never seen such violent fighting in his neighborhood of Tadamon, a poor, densely populated area south of downtown.

He said the army had parked armored vehicles at the neighborhood's entrances and posted tanks on its north and south edges.

Some two-thirds of the neighborhood's residents have fled, while those who remain are scared government snipers will target them if they leave now, he said.

But so far, the rebels have kept the army out, destroying three tanks and one armored car with rocket-propelled grenades, said Moaz, declining to give his full name for fear of retribution. Others spoke on condition anonymity.

Amateur videos posted online Monday gave glimpses of the fighting. In one, a dozen fighters crouched Sunday behind sandbags, firing at a tank down a rubble-strewn street with a machine gun and rocket-propelled grenades.

Another video showed a burnt station wagon with at least three charred bodies inside that an off-camera narrator said were government troops.

Yet another video showed dozens of protesters who had blocked traffic on the main highway entering the city from the south with burning tires, bricks and pieces of metal fencing. Hundreds of cars were backed up in both directions.

A video apparently shot later in the day showed army vehicles and troops blocking the entrances to an adjacent neighborhood.

The fiercest fighting was in the southwest neighborhoods of Mezzeh, Kfar Souseh, Midan, Tadamon, Nahr Aisha and al-Zahira, while activists also reported clashes in the western suburbs and in the northern neighborhood of Barzeh.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 12 people were killed in and around Damascus, among some 90 people killed nationwide. About a third of the dead were government troops, it said.

Activist claims and videos could not be independently verified. The Syrian government bars most media from working in the country.

The government said little about the clashes, but the state news agency said the army was hunting an "armed terrorist group" in one of the neighborhoods. The regime blames the uprising on terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to weaken the country.

Streets were largely deserted in neighborhoods near the fighting. Many families have fled or are still trying to get out, and fear grips those who remain.

"It is a war here, a war," said a 28-year-old mother of two reached by phone in the Midan neighborhood. She said she didn't know if there were rebels on her street because she was scared that looking out the window would draw fire. She said her 5-year-old son had not stopped screaming since the fighting started Sunday.

"Assad will only go after he kills all of us," said the woman, who declined to give her name for fear of reprisals from Syrian security.

The Syrian regime has grown increasingly isolated throughout the crisis, with a number of Arab and Western nations withdrawing their ambassadors to protest the crackdown.

On Monday, Morocco asked the Syrian ambassador to leave the country. Within hours, Syria's state-run TV said the Foreign Ministry had declared Morocco's ambassador to Syria persona non grata.

---

Associated Press writer Jim Heintz contributed reporting from Moscow.

17 July 2012 Last updated at 18:22 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page
Fighting is intensifying across the Syrian capital Damascus, where the military has deployed tanks and helicopters, activists say.

Shooting was reported in one of the main central streets and a square housing the Central Bank.

Rebel forces say they have launched an all-out assault on the capital, calling it Operation Damascus Volcano.

UN envoy Kofi Annan has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow over the crisis.

Mr Putin told reporters after meeting Mr Annan that Russia still backed the envoy's six-point peace plan, which called for a ceasefire and talks between the government and opposition.

Russia and China have consistently refused to back any measures that hint at intervention in Syria, or ask for Mr Assad to step down.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis

Jim Muir

BBC News, Beirut

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With international diplomacy virtually paralysed by big-power splits over how to tackle the Syrian crisis, the clashes in Damascus seem to have carried the conflict into a new phase.

The fighting in the capital may have started on Sunday as a case of security forces tackling armed rebels displaced by a crackdown on the suburbs. But the Free Syrian Army has now declared that Operation Damascus Volcano is under way. The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest and most organised opposition group, has called it a "decisive battle" and urged all Syrians to join a nationwide civil insurrection.

The regime is clearly discomfited. With parts of the capital's centre paralysed, and thousands of residents displaced within the city limits, state media have dropped all mention of the Damascus fighting.

The UN has until Friday to renew the mandate for observers in Syria, and Western nations want the two nations to back tougher measures to stop the fighting.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has landed in Beijing, where he called for rapid unified action by the Security Council to tackle the crisis.

In other developments:

Defector Nawaf al-Fares tells the BBC the regime has colluded with al-Qaeda in bomb attacks, and would not hesitate to use chemical weapons if it is cornered
Iraq warns its citizens to flee the violence, hours after the bodies of two killed journalists were handed over by the Syrian authorities
'Decisive battle'

Activist video on Tuesday showed government tanks and troops moving on the main roads into the centre of Damascus.

The rebel Free Syrian Army said it had launched Operation Damascus Volcano, and has called for an escalation of attacks on regime targets and the blocking of main roads all around the country.

One of the biggest and most organised opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, has called on all Syrians to join what it called a decisive battle.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis

Frank Gardner

BBC security correspondent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nawaf al-Fares does not look at first glance like a man who has just defected from a regime he calls "murderous criminals". Neatly dressed in suit and tie, he was until last week Syria's ambassador to Iraq and is the most senior diplomat to defect so far from the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Sitting now in a luxury hotel in the Gulf state of Qatar, he piles one accusation after another against the regime he served for 34 years.

He accuses his former masters - without offering proof - of colluding with al-Qaeda to carry out mass-casualty bombings on its own citizens to discredit the opposition. He says the regime, if cornered further, "will not hesitate to use chemical weapons".

This is a serious allegation from a defector with some inside knowledge, but Mr Fares is not a scientist nor a soldier. And his words have disturbing echoes of the sort of claims being trumpeted about Saddam's mythical WMD in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Nawaf Fares does of course have a vested interest in discrediting the regime which he has just deserted.

Assessing Syria defector's claims

Witnesses say the government's military deployment in Damascus is the biggest since protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule began in March last year.

Clashes were reported in a major thoroughfare, Baghdad Street, the first time fighting has reached central Damascus since the conflict began.

Also, machine-gun fire was reported in nearby Sabaa Bahrat square, site of the Central Bank and scene of several major pro-government demonstrations.

Activists reported continued clashes on the south-western side of the city, including in Midan.

"The army is shelling al-Midan hysterically; the collapsing regime has gone mad," one activist told AFP.

Fighting is also said to have broken out on the other side, at Barzeh and Qaboun. Attack helicopters were seen there firing rockets for the first time since the uprising began.

Rebels told Reuters news agency they had shot down a helicopter in Qaboun.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi told Reuters that "some armed elements had infiltrated Damascus".

"The security forces surrounded them and dealt with them - and are still dealing with them," he said.

"Some [fighters] have surrendered and others escaped on foot and by car and are firing randomly in the air to frighten people," he said.

The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says it appears the uprising has moved into a new phase in the heart of the capital, paralysing parts of it for a time and causing panic.

Nawaf Fares talks to the BBC's Frank Gardner
Meanwhile, the head of Israeli army intelligence said Syrian forces had been redeployed from the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to help defend the capital.

"The Syrian military is acting very brutally, which shows the regime is desperate. Its control of Damascus is getting weaker," Maj-Gen Aviv Kochavi told a parliamentary committee, according to a Knesset spokesman.

Mr Fares, the former Syrian ambassador to Iraq, is the most senior Syrian politician to have defected to the opposition.

Syria is known to have a stockpile of chemical weapons and there are growing concerns about the security of such weapons should the government fall.

Asked if he thought President Assad might use chemical weapons against the opposition, Mr Fares told BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner that he would not rule it out, describing Mr Assad as "a wounded wolf".

EmailSyrian rebels said they had shot down an army helicopter over the Damascus district of Qaboun during a third day of fierce fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad and his opponents.

"Helicopters are flying at low altitude. It's easy to target them using anti-aircraft weapons," a senior rebel officer said.

The fighting between Syrian troops and rebels in the capital has continued as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with peace envoy Kofi Annan in Moscow.

Speaking briefly after the talks, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia sees no reason why the UN Security Council cannot find a consensus for a resolution on the Syrian crisis.

"I see no reason why we cannot also agree at the UN Security Council. We are ready for this," Lavrov said.

Annan added: "The Council, I expect, will be sending out a message that the killings must stop and that the situation on the ground is unacceptable."


Rebels reportedly burned tyres on a major road in Syrian capital Damascus

Activists claim forces loyal to the Syrian leader have been using helicopter gunships in the ongoing clashes in Damascus, described as the city's worst since the uprising started 16 months ago.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Damascus-based activist Maath al Shami said the attacks were focused on the neighbourhoods of Qadam and Hajar al Aswad, while fighting also took place in Kfar Souseh, Nahr Aisha, Midan and Qadam.

Syria's state-run news agency said troops were still chasing "terrorist elements" who fled from Nahr Aisha to Midan.

But the revolutionary Free Syrian Army said the operation - dubbed "the Damascus volcano and earthquakes of Syria" - was launched "in response to massacres and barbaric crimes" committed by the Assad regime.

The FSA said in a statement that it started to conduct "attacks on all security stations and branches in the cities and the countryside, to enter into fierce clashes (with their forces) and to call on them to surrender".

It called for all international roads to be cut off, "from (northern) Aleppo to (southern) Daraa and from (eastern) Deir Ezzor to (coastal) Latakia, to cut off and seize the supply lines."

Ahead of the talks between Mr Putin and Mr Annan, Russia slammed as "blackmail" Western pressure to push for a UN Security Council resolution against the Syrian regime.

Fears were also raised by comments from Nawaf Fares, the first Syrian ambassador to defect, who warned that President Assad would use chemical weapons against opposition forces and may have already deployed them.

Mr Fares, the most prominent politician to defect since the uprising against Assad began, insisted the president's days were numbered but warned he would be prepared "to eradicate the entire Syrian people" to remain in power.

His comments came as a Turkish official said a Syrian brigadier-general and several other defected military officers were among 1,280 Syrians to have fled from Syria to Turkey overnight.

18 July 2012 Last updated at 09:12 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

.Syria conflict: Battle around Damascus rages on Activists say there is more armour on the streets in some districts Continue There has been more fighting during the night around Syria's capital Damascus, activists say, days after rebels declared a final battle for the city.

Reports say that a barracks overlooking the presidential palace is on fire.

However, Syrian officials dismissed claims of an all-out rebel offensive.

Meanwhile, UN chiefs have been trying to persuade China and Russia to agree tougher measures on Syria, ahead of a Security Council vote on Wednesday on imposing sanctions.

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Chinese leader Hu Jintao in Beijing.

The UN has until Friday to renew the mandate for observers in Syria, although a vote is expected in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

Western nations want a new resolution threatening measures short of the use of force.

Annan expressed hopes that the UN Security Council could "move forward" on Syria
The Western-backed draft resolution to be discussed gives the Syrian government 10 days to withdraw heavy weapons from cities and return troops to barracks, otherwise a further resolution on sanctions will be submitted to the Security Council.

But the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says that with Russia resisting all efforts to persuade it to take a tougher line with Syria, there is virtually no hope of concerted international action to pull the country back from the brink.

'Damascus volcano'

Activists reported more clashes during the night in several areas around the south-west of Damascus.

They said the government had brought more troops and armour into some districts, and that several people had been killed in clashes and bombardments.

One resident, Susan Ahmad, told the BBC the entrances to Damascus were closed in the morning.

"We heard the sounds of explosions every now and then all around Damascus," she said.

"Now tanks are storming into al-Qaboun [district], shelling everything, shelling residential houses, shooting every moving thing and they are trying to arrest people and kill.

"People are trying to run away and get out of al-Qaboun."

Continue reading the main story
Annan's six-point peace plan
1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people

2. UN-supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians

3. All parties to ensure provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause

4. Authorities to intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons

5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists

6. Authorities to respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully

Activists have also posted on the internet pictures of what they say is a barracks on the heights overlooking the city engulfed in flames.

They believed it had been hit by fire from Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, and said the barracks is involved in providing security for the presidential palace complex below.

State media said security forces fought off attacks by small groups of armed terrorists in the city.

But the TV carried night-time footage of troops deployed in the Midan quarter, in some very tense and deserted streets.

The rebels have declared a final battle for the capital, calling it Operation Damascus Volcano, and have been fighting troops in several parts of Damascus for the past three days.

The fighting reached central areas on Tuesday, with gunfire and plumes of smoke reported in a street near parliament.

The Free Syrian Army said the operation was well planned, and they had sent hundreds of fighters to the capital last week to be in place for the assault.

The rebels and the government often publish contradictory accounts of the same incidents.

Western journalists are under heavy restrictions in Syria, making it difficult to verify the claims of either side.

About 16,000 people have died in Syria since protests against the Assad regime began in March last year.

A SUICIDE ATTACK HAS KILLED ONE OF ASSAD'S TOP COMMANDERS? WHILA IN A CABINET MEETING

Badboy wrote:A SUICIDE ATTACK HAS KILLED ONE OF ASSAD'S TOP COMMANDERS? WHILA IN A CABINET MEETING

Hi Badboy, the Syrian people are fleeing to all the surrounding Countries to save their lives.....what will they have to go back to????? Like Iraq the
infrastructure of Syria is being demolished . Russia has a vested interesst for not interfering , as has China, the U.N. is reluctant to send in troops after what happened in Lybia and Afghanistan but is looks like a full blown Civil war is on the cards.

EmailThe brother-in-law of Syrian president Bashar al Assad and his defence minister are among three killed by a bomb that struck at the heart of the country's security elite.

Assef Shawkat and defence chief Daoud Rajha died in the blast at a meeting of senior security and government figures in Damascus.

Syrian general Hassan Turkmani, a former defence minister and senior military official, was also killed.

The attack, which sparked apparent celebrations in parts of the city, is by far the most serious on the president's inner circle and some analysts believe it marks the "beginning of the end" for the Assad regime.

The White House said after the deadly attack that the president was "losing control".

The bomb, at a national security building in central Damascus not far from the presidential palace, came on the fourth day of intense fighting between rebels and soldiers in the capital.

There were conflicting reports about whether it was suicide device or had been planted in a meeting room beforehand.

Sky News has spoken to someone who was inside the building at the time. Sky's Foreign Editor Tim Marshall said: "They heard a muffled bang... they then heard gunfire.


A UN vehicle near the scene of the bomb attack in central Damascus

"It was at that point they realised there was a problem. Why would there be gunfire? Knowing the security forces there as I do, it is quite possible that people react in a panicky fashion at times. That could explain the gunfire."

Marshall said that although there were anti-Assad celebrations on the outskirts of Damascus, streets in more central areas have been deserted and state employees have been sent home.

The explosion came just hours ahead of a planned vote on a new Syrian resolution. UN peace envoy Kofi Annan has since asked for the vote to be delayed.

Some sources said a bodyguard employed by the regime's elite was carrying the device on a belt around his waist.

However, rebel groups who claimed responsibility denied the blast was a suicide attack.

Liwa al Islam, an Islamist rebel group whose name means "The Brigade of Islam", said it had been planning the attack for a month. The Free Syrian Army also claimed responsibility.

Initial details of five more explosions were later reported close to a military base led by Mr Assad's brother.

Syria vowed to punish those responsible saying it would "chop any hand that harms national security".


Trusted allies: Defence minister Daoud Rajha (left) with President Assad

"The armed forces are determined to terminate the killing gangs and criminals and pursue them wherever they go," a military statement said.

"Whoever thinks that by targeting some commanders they can twist Syria's arm, is delusional."

The bomb blast comes amid reports that at least 60 soldiers have been killed in Damascus in the last 48 hours, as the city descends into a battleground.

And it was just hours after two army generals crossed the border to Turkey - bringing to 18 the number of senior military figures who have defected.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the bomb attack that killed the officials, adding that it "strengthened" the argument for decisive UN action.

France said Mr Assad's struggle to stay in power was now "futile".


A girl wounded by shelling in Homs is treated in hospital

Rebels have announced a full-scale offensive in the capital and say the drive to "liberate" the capital has begun.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 93 people were killed nationwide on Tuesday, as heavy weaponry pounded areas including Homs.

Meanwhile, Russia remains at loggerheads with the US and its European allies ahead of a vote later on a new Syria resolution.

There appears to be little hope that the UN's most powerful body will unite behind a peace plan to end the 17-month civil war.

The key stumbling block is the Western demand for a resolution threatening non-military sanctions and tied to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter. Chapter 7 allows the Security Council to authorise military action, but US officials have said they are talking about sanctions rather than force.

Russia is adamantly opposed to any mention of sanctions or Chapter 7.

Mr Hague insisted during a trip to Jordan on Tuesday that a Chapter 7 resolution is required to implement the peace plan formulated by Mr Annan, who is in Russia for talks.

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A bomb has struck a high-level security meeting in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing the defence minister as well as President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law. The country's information minister, speaking on state TV, said those responsible would be held accountable.
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'Massive Victory' For Syrian Rebels
Middle East expert Michael Weiss told Sky News that the killing of the Syrian president's brother-in-law and defence chief in a bomb blast is an indication of what is to come.
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Training Day For Free Syrian Army As fighting between rebels and forces loyal to the Assad regime intensifies, members of the Free Syrian Army have been taking part in daily training sessions.

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US Bans Firms And Syrians Over WMD US Bans Firms And Syrians Over WMD
Updated: 5:34pm UK, Wednesday 18 July 2012

By Sam Kiley, Security And Defence Correspondent

Facing an uphill battle to get Russian support at the United Nations for sanctions against Syria, the US has slapped financial sanctions of its own on 29 Syrians and six companies suspected of involvement with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

All but one of the individuals who are now banned from doing business with Americans or permanent residents of the US are government ministers and have been labelled Specially Designated Nationals.

The six companies include the British Virgin Islands-registered Drex Technologies. The firm is part-owned by Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al Assad's cousin and the most powerful businessman in the country.

The UK, US and France have been trying to get Russia to agree similar international sanctions should be imposed on President Assad if he fails to rein in his armed forces and agree to follow a UN peace plan.

The latest sanctions follow revelations on Sky News that Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, known to be the biggest in the Middle East, had been 'weaponised' so that it can be delivered in artillery shells or missiles and dispersed all over the country by the government security forces.

Israeli officials, speaking off the record, have said that they believe that the use of such weapons against the Jewish state or their transfer to terrorist groups such as Hizbollah would amount to a cause for war against Syria.

Jordan, also a Syrian neighbour, is also worried. Foreign minister Nasser Judeh said recently that the Syrian stockpiles were a cause of "grave concern" but that Jordan had plans to "deal with them". He offered no more detail.

In May, 12,000 troops from 18 countries took part in a special forces exercise, which ran for three weeks and were seen by many as a rehearsal for operations to try to seize chemical weapons if President Assad looked likely to use them or lose them.


There is no official 'We say it's a Civil War' committee, which meets in a Civil War committee room to make solemn pronouncements, and no universally accepted definitions.

There are opinions about what constitutes a civil war, and opinions about whether a situation meets the requirements.

So the answer is: A civil war is a civil war when enough people say it is, and especially when the International Red Cross says it is.

Once its weight is thrown behind the argument, widespread agreement can be expected to follow.

In early 2011 Syria was in a state of crisis with nationwide demonstrations which were violently suppressed. By the summer it was developing into a full blown insurrection with specific hotspots.

By early 2012 several foreign correspondent, reporting what they felt to be blindingly obvious, said the country was now in a civil war.

In June a senior UN official agreed; still, nations and world bodies hesitated until July when the Red Cross weighed in with its opinion.

The Red Cross believes that as the violence has spread so widely "there are many places in Syria that fulfil requirements to be called a 'non-international armed conflict" - a civil war to you and me.

This means that the conflict falls under the Geneva Conventions, or the rules of war. They grant the forces engaged in the war the right to use appropriate force to achieve their aims. They also protect, in theory, all civilians and prisoners.

The conventions can be used as the foundation for prosecutions for war crimes.

There were already laws which could be used to prosecute those on both sides who are committing atrocities in Syria, and there were already teams investigating allegations.

The British Government and others will continue to work with their own legal teams backed by their own expertise, but the Red Cross opinion clarifies things.

Not only will countries and organisations fall in behind the Red Cross, but they can also refer to the Geneva Conventions with more confidence.

LETS SEE WHAT SITUATION IS AT THE END OF THE WEEK

Badboy wrote:LETS SEE WHAT SITUATION IS AT THE END OF THE WEEK

It is looking more likely to end in a Civil War Badboy which really does not benefit anyone. There are now two distinct sides, the original rebels who
just wanted Freedom , then the Syrian army made up of defecting soldiers and Officers. Now , more and more Army Senior Staff are joining the
defectors, but the tragedy might well be that if Assad is overthrown , the defectors will take command so the original rebels will face another
dictatorship.

(CNN) -- A day after a devastating, deadly blow to his regime, the Syrian president has not been seen or heard from publicly.

Even as world leaders and analysts have questioned whether he still has control over his country -- and as Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday that would have placed new sanctions on his country -- Bashar al-Assad had no public appearances.

Although al-Assad has not often appeared on television or in public events during the near 17-month crisis gripping his country, it is unusual for a leader not to address a nation in the wake of a major bombing, and as violence rages in the capital city.

The blast at a government building in Damascus killed three top officials, one of whom also was the president's brother-in-law.

State TV reported that al-Assad quickly replaced the slain defense minister, but it did not say where the president was. The new minister, Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij, took his oath in front of al-Assad, state TV said. But it did not show images of the ceremony.

Some reports suggest that al-Assad may have left Damascus.

At least 77 people were killed Thursday, including 25 in Damascus suburbs and 13 inside Damascus, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The Damascus suburb Qaboon was under heavy fire Thursday, according to an opposition activist.

Video: Fighting rages around Damascus

Residents trying to flee the violence have nowhere to go because clashes are raging in most of Damascus province, said Omar al-Dimashki, a spokesman for the Revolution Leadership Council of Damascus.

"It is surrounded by tanks, and anything that moves is currently being shelled, and rockets are falling on the homes," he said.

Syria, which blames the violence on "armed terrorist groups," said it "repelled" some groups that attempted to enter Syria from Lebanon on Wednesday night.

At the U.N. Security Council in New York, Russia and China vetoed the U.N. Security Council resolution that would have imposed new sanctions on Syria.

The move came despite heavy diplomatic efforts.

The two countries are "failing the people of Syria," said Britain's U.N. ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, who was first to speak at the Security Council meeting after the vote. "The effect of their actions is to protect a brutal regime."

Russia and China, which have major trade deals with Syria, have said they want more balanced resolutions that call on all sides to halt the violence.

Grant accused them of putting "their national interests ahead of the lives of millions of Syrians." And he said they are relying on al-Assad's "broken promises."

Syria blames the violence on "armed terrorist groups."

The regime said Wednesday's bombing was carried out by people "implementing foreign plots."

The Syrian military issued a statement stressing its "resolution to decisively eliminating the criminal and murder gangs and chasing them out of their rotten hideouts wherever they are until clearing the homeland of their evils," state-run news agency SANA said.

Anyone who thinks that targeting leaders will "twist Syria's arms is 'deluded,'" the statement said, according to SANA.

Video: Syria government says it will fight back

The officials killed in the blast were the defense minister; the deputy defense minister, who is the president's brother-in-law; and al-Assad's security adviser and assistant vice president, state TV reported.

The deputy head of the rebel Free Syrian Army, Col. Malek al-Kurdi, said the attack was coordinated by rebel brigades. But some other rebel commanders say it's unclear who was behind the attack.

As violence has raged in what the Red Cross now declares to be a civil war across the country, world leaders have stepped up diplomatic efforts.

Kofi Annan, joint envoy to Syria for the United Nations and the Arab League, traveled to Moscow this week in hopes of winning support from Russia for tough action at the Security Council.

U.S. President Barack Obama called his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to discuss the Syrian situation, the White House said in a statement Wednesday.

But Thursday's Security Council vote showed those diplomatic efforts had failed.

Western countries were pushing for a resolution that threatens new sanctions if government forces don't stop attacks against civilians.

The resolution also called for renewing the 300-member U.N. observer mission for 45 days after it was suspended because of violence.

Russia put forward its own draft, which "strongly urges all parties in Syria to cease immediately all armed violence in all its forms."

See the Syria crisis in photos

Since the crisis began in March 2011, the United Nations estimates, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the violence; the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria estimates that more than 16,000 have died.

CNN cannot independently confirm reports of violence in the nation because the government restricts access to foreign journalists.

Attack threatens Syrian president's grip on power

CNN's Arwa Damon, Richard Roth, Brian Walker and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.

Syrian rebels have captured a number of positions on the country's borders with Turkey and Iraq.

A senior Iraqi official said all the crossings on Syria's eastern frontier had been seized. At one point, two Turkish posts were also in rebel hands.

The push came a day after a bomb claimed the lives of three senior defence officials in Damascus.

At the UN, negotiations are under way on extending the mandate of the observer mission in Syria,

The mandate for the mission is due to expire on Friday.

There are almost 300 UN observers in Syria, but the mission suspended most of its monitoring activity in June, because of the risk from increasing violence.

The US says it might consider a final brief extension of the monitors work, but warned that it could not pin its policy on an unarmed mission.

The UK is said to be proposing an extension for a "final 30 days".

As the situation in Syria becomes more unpredictable and violent, the diplomacy in New York is lagging behind events on the ground, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN.

Escalating battle

The rebels, perhaps sensing that the regime was too preoccupied with the escalating battle for the capital, stormed all the posts on the Iraqi border, the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says.


The major Abu Kamal crossing on the Euphrates river in the east was captured after a clash with government forces, opposition activists said.

More than 20 Syrian soldiers and their commander were killed when a remote army outpost in the far north-east was attacked, Associated Press news agency reported.

Iraq's government, seen as sympathetic to President Bashar al-Assad, has threatened to shut its side of the border and one official told Reuters news agency that it was closing the Abu Kamal crossing.

On the frontier with Turkey, too, rebels were said to have taken control of two posts, at Bab al-Hawa and Jarablus.

Video from the Bab al-Hawa crossing in Idlib province soon emerged of rebels defacing a portrait of President Assad, but they later reportedly withdrew from the position.

First images

For four days, rebels have been involved in clashes in areas of the capital as they push their "Damascus volcano" operation against Syrian armed forces.

Damascus-based activist Hassan describes how people are too afraid to venture outside
The deaths of three top security officials has led to a mobilisation of government troops in an attempt to drive the rebels out of the city.

The president's brother-in-law, the defence minister and head of the government's crisis team were killed by a bomb as they attended a meeting at the national security headquarters.

The first images of President Assad since the attack have appeared, largely ending rumours he might have been hurt.

The footage appeared to show Gen Fahd Jassim al-Furayj, chief of staff of the armed forces, being sworn into his new post as defence minister.

Tanks and armoured vehicles were reported to have moved into Qaboun on Thursday, close to the centre of Damascus.

There were heavy casualties, activists said, as a result of an army bombardment of Zamalka in the eastern outskirts of Damascus.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis

Laura Trevelyan

BBC News, New York

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The mood inside the Security Council chamber was acrimonious after China and Russia vetoed the resolution. Britain's ambassador accused the two nations of protecting a brutal regime by their actions. America's ambassador said the council had failed utterly in the most important task on its agenda.

China's ambassador denounced what he called an uneven resolution which placed pressure on one side, while Russia's representative claimed the resolution would have opened the path to military involvement in Syria's affairs.

Now negotiations are under way to try to extend the mandate of the UN monitoring mission in Syria which is due to expire on Friday.

The mission is supposed to monitor a ceasefire and support a political process - neither of which exist. So the UK is proposing a 30 day "final" extension.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number of fatalities across the country on Thursday at 250.

'Indefensible'

The pace of events in Syria was in marked contrast to the diplomatic stalemate at the UN Security Council, where Russia and China vetoed a Western resolution calling for tougher sanctions on Damascus.

Under the Western-backed plan, the Damascus government would have been threatened with non-military sanctions under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter if it failed to move troops and heavy weapons from populated areas.

But the use of Chapter Seven paved the way for "external military involvement in Syrian domestic affairs", Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin argued.

The UK, US and France said the UN had failed the people of Syria and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the use of the veto as "inexcusable and indefensible".

Jul 20, 4:11 AM EDT






Documents
Indictment of Monzer al-Kassar





BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian activists say 310 people were killed across the country on Thursday in what was the single deadliest day of fighting since the beginning of the revolt against President Bashar Assad's regime.

Syria's civil war escalated dramatically in the past week as rebels closed in on the capital Damascus and launched their most serious blow yet on Assad's inner circle, killing three top aides in an assassination.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday at least 93 of those killed Thursday were government troops.

The Local Coordination Committees, which documents civilian deaths, said 217 civilians were killed Thursday.

Death tolls are difficult to verify in tightly controlled Syria which places severe restrictions on journalists.

Syrian TV said troops recovered control of a rebellious neighborhood in Damascus Friday.

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Jul 20, 3:11 PM EDT


Syrian troops recapture Damascus neighborhood

By ALBERT AJI and ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press








Latest Syria News
Syrian troops recapture Damascus neighborhood
Syrian agent working in US gets 18 months

Iraqis flee Syria in droves by land and air

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Analysis: Assad's grip on Syria has become tenuous




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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syrian troops and tanks on Friday drove rebels from a Damascus neighborhood where some of the heaviest of this week's fighting in the capital left cars gutted and fighters' bodies in the streets. More than 300 people were killed in a single day, activists said, as the military struggles to regain momentum after a stunning bombing against the regime's leadership.

A fourth member of President Bashar Assad's inner circle, national security chief Gen. Hisham Ikhtiyar, died of wounds he suffered in Wednesday's bomb blast, which went off during a high level security meeting in Damascus, the government announced.

The bombing has been a resounding blow to Assad, killing his defense minister and his influential brother-in-law along with another security official, all central to directing the crackdown on the uprising against his rule.

The blast, six days of sustained fighting in neighborhoods across the heart of the capital and the fall of several border posts into rebel hands have pointed to the unraveling of Assad's grip on power amid an uprising that began in March 2011 with peaceful protests inspired by the Arab Spring but became increasingly militarized as the opposition took up arms.

Regime troops regained control of the district of Midan in the southern part of Damascus on Friday and eagerly took journalists on a tour to prove it. But rebels launched new fighting in several other districts of the capital, activists said.

The fighting came as Muslims around much of the world began marking Islam's annual Ramadan fast, abstaining from food or drink from sunrise to sunset. In a sign of the increasing sectarian split in Syria, the mainly Sunni opposition said it was starting the fast on Friday, along with Saudi Arabia and most Sunni-led Arab nations. The regime, meanwhile, said it would begin Saturday, as is its ally, Shiite-led Iran.

Battles involving troops bringing in tanks, helicopters and mortars have turned parts of Damascus into combat zones and sent thousands of Syrian families packed in cars streaming across the border into neighboring Lebanon.

"Our heroic forces have completely cleansed the Midan area of the terrorist mercenaries," state TV announced, employing the term used by authorities to refer to rebels. It said authorities seized large quantities of weapons including machine guns, explosive belts, rocket-propelled grenades and communications equipment.

Damascus activist Khaled al-Shami, contacted via Skype, said rebels carried out a "tactical" retreat early Friday to spare civilians further shelling after five days of intense clashes between opposition fighters and regime forces.

But in an indication of the volatile security situation, the government took local journalists for the trip to Midan inside two armored personal carriers Friday.

An Associated Press reporter on the trip saw scenes of destruction, including dozens of damaged or charred cars, stores with shattered windows. "The Mosque of the Free," read graffiti scrawled on the outer wall of the local Saeed Bin Zeid Mosque, apparently by opposition supporters who held sway in the neighborhood for days.

The corpses of at least six young men lay on the street. One of them, near the mosque, appeared to have been shot in the chest. Others were bearded and dressed in black with axes next to them. Garbage littered the streets, shops were closed and the streets were almost deserted.

But rebels continued to strike elsewhere in the capital Friday. Rebels attacked a police station on Khaled bin Waleed Street, where heavy fighting was going on, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Clashes were also reported in the northern Barzeh and Rukneddine districts.

Details on the fighting were not immediately available.

A Syria-based activist who goes by the name of Bashir al-Dimashqi said the rebels in Damascus were staging hit and run attacks and striking at security targets as opposed to controlling areas.

"Their strategy is to paralyze public institutions and chip away at the regime," he said.

Activists reported that 310 people were killed in violence nationwide Thursday, making it the single deadliest day of fighting since the revolt began.

The toll included 93 government troops, the Syrian Observatory said. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees said 217 civilians were killed Thursday.

The figures could not be independently verified because of severe restrictions on journalists in Syria.

Also Friday, the United Nations Security Council voted to extend the mission of some 300 unarmed observers in Syria for 30 days.

The team was meant to oversee a cease-fire that was supposed to begin in mid-April but never took hold. In recent weeks, violence has kept the observers largely confined to their hotels.

The vote extends the mission, which was set to expire Friday, for 30 days, though it can be extended if Syrian troops stop using heavy weapons in populated areas and the overall level of violence drops.

On Thursday, Russia and China vetoed a resolution backed by Western nations that would have imposed new sanctions on Assad's regime.

Besides the fighting in Damascus Friday, about a half-dozen rebels took over a Syrian border crossing near the Iraqi town of Qaim on Thursday, said Iraqi army Brig. General Qassim al-Dulaimi. There are four major border posts with Iraq.

Rebels overtook a Syrian army outpost near the Syrian-Iraq border after clashes that killed 21 Syrian soldiers, he added.

In addition, amateur video posted online showed rebels taking over the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, where they stomped on portraits of Assad. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video because the government bars most media from working independently in the country.

A Turkish official based in Reyhanli, on the Turkish side of the border gate of Bab al-Hawa, confirmed that the rebels had taken control of the frontier crossing, but had no information on the latest situation over on the Syrian side.

Another official said Turkey has temporarily closed the border gate "for security reasons." Both spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to journalists without authorization.

The Damascus fighting and Wednesday's bomb blast have shown increased capabilities by Syria's rebels, made up of military defectors and protesters who took up arms. They have managed to launch operations in the capital before, but never carried out such sustained fighting.

In the bombing, they succeeded in slipping an explosive into an inner sanctum of the regime.

The funerals of the first three victims of the blast - Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Assef Shawkat and Hassan Turkmani, a former defense minister - were held Friday in Syria amid "official presence," state TV reported.

The state news agency said Vice-President Farouq al-Sharaa and Gen. Fahd al-Freij, the new defense minister, laid wreaths on the men's coffins.

Assad did not attend and has only appeared in a brief, soundless video clip aired on state TV since the bomb attack.

Shawkat was the husband of Assad's sister and a major adviser. Rajha was the highest-ranking Christian in Assad's leadership, which is dominated by members of his own Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Syria's Al-Dunia TV later showed brief images of Rajha's funeral at a church in Damascus. It showed the coffin, wrapped in a red, white and black Syrian flag surrounded by clapping crowds as women dressed in black cried in mourning.

---

Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara.

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Jul 20, 6:51 PM EDT


Thousands flee as Syrian rebels wage guerrilla war

By BEN HUBBARD
Associated Press








Documents
Indictment of Monzer al-Kassar


Latest Syria News
Thousands flee as Syrian rebels wage guerrilla war
Iraqis flee Syria in droves by land and air

Syrian agent working in US gets 18 months

Surviving members of Syria inner circle

Analysis: Assad's grip on Syria has become tenuous









BEIRUT (AP) -- Rebels pressed their guerrilla fight to topple Syria's regime deeper into the capital on Friday, ambushing troops and attacking police stations as thousands of terrified civilians fled to Lebanon and Iraq to escape some of the worst violence of the 16-month conflict.

The two-day death toll was more than 470 people, marking some of the deadliest of the uprising.

The U.N. refugee agency said between 8,500 and 30,000 Syrians had entered Lebanon in the past 48 hours, and thousands of Iraqis have also returned home, a bitter trip for many who fled to Syria from their own country's civil war.

In Damascus, Syrian forces recaptured one battle-scarred neighborhood and proudly showed reporters the dead bodies of rebel fighters lying in rubble-strewn streets.

But rebels said they withdrew to expand their guerrilla war, pointing to the difficulty both sides will have in achieving victory in Damascus, the central bastion of President Bashar Assad's rule.

Fighting has flared across Syria this week, as battles have ravaged Damascus neighborhoods, death tolls have skyrocketed, border crossings have fallen to rebel fighters and a rebel bomb attack killed top members of Assad's regime.

Assad's national security chief, Gen. Hisham Ikhtiyar, died Friday from wounds sustained in the bombing Wednesday that killed three others, including the defense minister and Assad's brother-in-law. All were key to the government's efforts to stamp out the insurgency.

The fighting has shattered parts of Damascus, with rebels attacking at least two police stations and government troops pounding rebel districts with mortars, machine-guns and attack helicopters.

The clashes echoed those seen elsewhere in Syria, with lightly armed, disorganized rebels avoiding direct battles with better-equipped government troops while launching ambushes on their convoys and checkpoints.

The regime, for its part, has deployed overwhelming firepower, shelling from afar and sending attack helicopters that rebel weapons can't reach.

"We often make tactical retreats so that there is no face-to-face confrontation," a rebel named Mohammed from the Eagles of Damascus brigade said via Skype. "It's like gang warfare. We pull out so we can hit in a different place or plan an attack on a regime checkpoint."

Like most rebels, his group has only assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, but lacks long-range weapons, leaving them helpless against government shelling and helicopter strikes.

They also lack ammunition.

"If we had all the ammunition we needed, we would have liberated the capital in two days," he said, asking that his full name not be published for fear of government reprisals.

This dynamic defined the battle for Midan, a south Damascus neighborhood that regime forces retook Friday after days of intense clashes.

During a government tour of the area, an Associated Press reporter saw dozens of torched or damaged cars in streets lined with shattered shop fronts.

The dead bodies of six young men lay in the street. One appeared to have been shot in the chest. Others were bearded and wore black.

Syrian state TV trumpeted the government's taking of the neighborhood.

"Our heroic forces have completely cleansed the Midan area of the terrorist mercenaries," it said, using government shorthand for the rebels. It said the forces had seized lots of weapons, including machine-guns, explosive belts and rocket-propelled grenades.

But indicating that the capital remains unsafe, the journalists rode in two armored vehicles.

A Damascus activist who gave his name as Huthayfa said via Skype that local fighters withdrew late Thursday because they could not face the army's heavy weapons.

"It was very dangerous for the civilians and the fighters, so we decided to pull out to come up with a new plan to take the area," he said.

Knowing they cannot defeat the army militarily, rebels hope to sap the regime's strength until it collapses.

"Their strategy is to paralyze public institutions and chip away at the regime," said another activist who goes by the name Bashir al-Dimashqi.

Fighting raged in and around the capital. Troops fired at anti-regime protesters in Khalid bin Walid Street downtown, killing five people and sparking clashes with local rebels who attacked the police station.

Amateur video posted online Friday showed bodies lying in the streets while fires burned nearby.

More than 170 people were killed across Syria on Friday, including about 50 in Damascus, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, pushing the death toll over the past two days over 470.

Activist claims and videos could not be independently verified. The Syrian government bars most media from working in the country.

In Geneva, the U.N. refugee agency said the fighting had caused a spike in the number of refugees fleeing the country. The group estimated earlier this week that some 120,000 Syrian refugees were in neighboring countries and another 1 million were displaced inside Syria.

The violence has cast a pall over international efforts to end the civil war through diplomacy.

The U.N. Security Council voted Friday to extend the mission of some 300 observers in Syria for 30 days. The observers, sent to oversee a cease-fire that has never taken hold, have been largely confined to their hotels in recent weeks. On Thursday, Russia and China vetoed a resolution backed by key Western nations that would have threatened non-military sanctions on Assad's regime.

Syria's unrest began in March 2011 when protests calling for political change met a violent government crackdown. Many in the opposition have since taken up arms as the conflict has morphed into a civil war that activists say has killed more than 17,000 people. The government says more than 4,000 security officers have been killed.

This week's bombing, which appeared to be an inside job, has raised questions about cracks in Assad's regime.

The blast's first three victims - Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Assef Shawkat and Hassan Turkmani, a former defense minister - were buried Friday after state funerals.

The state news agency said Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa and Gen. Fahd al-Freij, the new defense minister, laid wreaths on the men's coffins.

Assad did not attend and has only appeared publicly in one soundless video on state TV since the bombing, raising questions about his whereabouts.

---

Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Albert Aji in Damascus, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

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