Syrian forces fight back in Damascus

20 Jul 2012, 9:36 pm   -   Source: AAP

Syrian forces have recaptured a Damascus district, rebels have seized border posts and a fourth senior security official has died following a bomb attack.

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Syrian forces have recaptured a Damascus district in a fierce fight with rebels, who have scored their own battlefield successes by seizing border posts in a bid to isolate Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"Our brave army forces have completely cleaned the area of Midan in Damascus of the remaining mercenary terrorists and have re established security," Syrian state television said on Friday, using the regime term for rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces had also attacked the eastern Damascus neighbourhood of Jubar as they pressed a counter-offensive against the rebel Operation Damascus Volcano campaign.

"Syrian regular forces, including trucks and cars packed with heavily armed men, stormed the district of Jubar," the Britain-based watchdog said.

In an earlier statement, the Observatory said "seven tanks and two armed personnel carriers stormed the district" of Midan in southern Damascus.

Friday's clashes followed a deadly day of fighting across Syria, which the Observatory said killed 302 people, the highest daily toll since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began more than 16 months ago.

Clashes occurred throughout the country and even on its frontiers, activists and witnesses said.

A press photographer reported that fighters of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) fought a raging battle with Syrian troops at the Bab al-Hawa border post with Turkey and that some 150 rebel fighters were on Friday in control of the crossing.

Rebels sacked the Syrian border post, which was bloodstained and riddled with bullets. They also looted Turkish lorries caught up in the battle.

On Thursday, Iraq's deputy interior minister Adnan al-Assadi said the FSA had seized control of all crossings along their common border.

He said Iraqi border guards had seen FSA fighters detain a Syrian lieutenant colonel and cut off his arms and legs.

"Then they executed 22 Syrian soldiers in front of the eyes of Iraqi soldiers."

The account of the killings could not be independently verified.

A fourth security chief died on Friday of his wounds two days after a bombing killed three top officials.

General Hisham Ikhtiyar had been wounded along with Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar in Wednesday's bombing at National Security headquarters, which was claimed by the FSA.

Defence Minister General Daoud Rajha, President Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani, head of the regime's crisis cell on the uprising, were all killed in the explosion.

The authorities said state funerals would be held in Damascus on Friday for the three regime stalwarts.

Activists have called for fresh anti-regime demonstrations after the regular weekly prayers on Friday under the slogan "The Ramadan of victory will be written in Damascus."

State television has announced that the Muslim holy fasting month begins on Saturday but the opposition Syrian National Council decided to begin Ramadan on Friday, in line with many Arab nations.

Damascus, meanwhile, dismissed comments by Russia's envoy to Paris that Assad is ready to give up power.

"The comments attributed to the Russian ambassador to Paris on the fact that President Assad would agree to relinquish power in a civilised manner are totally baseless," state television said.

The denial came after Alexander Orlov told Radio France International (RFI) that Assad was ready to cede power but only in a "civilised manner."

At the United Nations, Russia and China used their powers on Thursday as permanent Security Council members to block resolutions on Syria for the third time in nine months.

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who had called on the council to impose "consequences" for the failure to carry out his peace plan for Syria, expressed disappointment that it had failed to reach agreement.

Washington condemned the "highly regrettable decision" of China and Russia to veto the UN resolution, with President Barack Obama's spokesman Jay Carney warning of "repercussions... in terms of how they're viewed by the Syrian people."

The US said the Security Council had "utterly failed" on Syria and that it would now work outside the council to confront Assad's regime.

In Moscow, foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called Western criticism of its decision "absolutely unacceptable".

Up to 30,000 Syrians have fled into Lebanon over the past 48 hours, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.

"Reports vary between 8500 and 30,000 people having crossed in the past 48 hours," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva.

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