Syrian regime bombards cities: activists

23 Aug 2012, 7:35 pm   -   Source: AAP

The fighting in Syria is raging as the regime attempts to oust the rebels in Damascus and Aleppo, activists say, as Britain warned against the use of chemical weapons.

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Loyalist forces are battling rebels in Damascus, shelling districts and storming houses, after launching a ferocious assault to try to reinforce its hold on the Syrian capital, activists say.

Warplanes and heavy artillery also reportedly bombarded rebel areas in the battered northern city of Aleppo, where rights group Amnesty warned that civilians were facing "horrific" violence and indiscriminate attacks.

And the West stepped up the pressure on the embattled regime, with Britain joining the United States in warning Syria against using its chemical weapons in a conflict that shows no sign of ending after more than 17 months of bloodshed.

Washington is also ramping up its military presence in the region, dispatching a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to deal with "threats" from Iran and the turmoil in Syria.

Fighting erupted on Thursday in several neighbourhoods of Damascus and in the country's commercial hub of Aleppo that the army claimed to have "cleansed" of rebels earlier this month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 41 people were reported killed in Damascus alone on Wednesday after troops backed by combat helicopters and tanks attacked several areas in the southern belt where anti-regime sentiment is strong, the Observatory said.

It was some of the worst violence since the army claimed to have reclaimed most of the capital a month ago.

At least 167 people including 71 civilians were killed nationwide on Wednesday, according to the Observatory, which has a network of activists on the ground but whose claims cannot be independently verified.

Shells also slammed into several rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the Observatory said, after a top Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander claimed it controlled about two-thirds of the city whose fate is seen as key to the outcome of the rebellion.

As the army ramps up its artillery bombardments and strikes from the air, activists say the rebel FSA is trying to stretch the regime's forces by opening up multiple fronts in several areas of Damascus and Aleppo.

British Prime Minster David Cameron and US President Barack Obama warned they would be forced to consider a new course of action if Syria threatened to use chemical weapons against rebel fighters.

The two leaders agreed in a phone call that the use of chemical weapons - which Syria admitted possessing in July - would be "completely unacceptable".

"Both said that they wanted to see a credible opposition and hoped that the opposition would use their upcoming meeting in Cairo to show real unity of purpose and coherence in working towards transition," a British statement said.

The White House said Obama also conveyed to Cameron his concern about the "increasingly dire" humanitarian situation in Syria, and called for more countries to contribute to UN humanitarian appeals.

UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos said on Wednesday that about 1.2 million people have taken refuge in schools and other public buildings in Syria, while growing numbers were heading for other countries to escape the conflict.

But she said that despite the increasingly precarious humanitarian situation, UN Security Council divisions would prevent the creation of any safe havens in Syria.

The Security Council has failed to act decisively to try to end the conflict, hampered by rifts between the West and Syria's traditional allies in Beijing and Moscow, particularly over the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

A top Syrian official hinted on Tuesday that Damascus was ready to discuss Assad's exit as part of a negotiated settlement, but not as a condition for dialogue, while the US is insisting he must go as a matter of urgency.

Russia, which along with China has vetoed three UN resolutions on the conflict, told the West not to meddle in Syria, but also said Damascus was not doing enough to end the violence.

In Washington, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the United States was preparing for "threats" from Iran and Syria's turmoil as an aircraft carrier headed to the region ahead of schedule.

The United States however, has little appetite for intervention. Asked about a possible no-fly zone over Syria, Panetta said the proposal was "not on the frontburner right now".

But underscoring the increasingly brutal nature of the conflict, Amnesty International said civilians were facing "horrific" violence in Aleppo, and accused the regime of waging indiscriminate attacks.

"The use of imprecise weapons, such as unguided bombs, artillery shells and mortars by government forces has dramatically increased the danger for civilians," it said in a statement.

The Observatory says that 23,000 people have been killed since March 2011, while the UN death toll is around 17,000.

Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, who took over last week as the international envoy for Syria after the UN ended its observer mission, has said it is now a matter of ending rather than avoiding civil war.

And adding to fears the war could destabilise Syria's neighbours, 10 people have been killed in days of clashes that first erupted on Monday between pro- and anti-Damascus regime supporters in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli.

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