Syrian forces 'kill 23 in Damascus'

22 Aug 2012, 10:09 pm   -   Source: AAP

Regime forces rained mortars down on two up-market Damascus neighbourhoods at daybreak, killing 23 suspected rebels, activists say.

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Syrian troops have shelled two Damascus districts before storming the neighbourhoods and conducting house-to-house raids in search of opposition fighters, killing at least 23 suspected rebels, activists say.

Regime forces rained mortars down on the upscale Kafar Soussa neighbourhood and the adjacent Nahr Eishah area at daybreak on Wednesday, according to activists.

The shelling apparently came from Qasioun mountain overlooking the capital, a Damascus resident said on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The attacks may have been designed to kill or capture rebel mortar teams who have used the two neighbourhoods in recent days to target the city's Mazzeh military airport, activists said.

The violence is part of a dramatic surge in fighting over the past month in Damascus, which is just one of many fronts President Bashar Assad's regime is struggling to contain as the rebellion against his rule gains strength.

Government forces are also engaged in a major battle for control of the northern city of Aleppo as well as smaller scale operations in the south, east and central regions.

An activist, who only wanted to be identified by the name Bassam for fear of retribution, said 11 people were killed in Kafar Soussa and that as many as 22 tanks stormed the district with about 20 soldiers on foot behind each one. He spoke via Skype from central Damascus.

The British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll in Kafar Soussa at 12.

Syria's ongoing civil war has its roots in a mostly peaceful uprising against Assad's regime that began in March last year.

The uprising grew increasingly violent as the regime employed brutal methods to suppress street protests, including the use of live ammunition and the detention and torture of thousands.

The conflict has to date defied all international efforts to end it.

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