A Syrian fighter jet crashed in eastern Syria on Monday, state television said, hours after rebels said they had brought down a jet in the same area. The Free Syrian Army later adopted the downing of the jet,
adding that they arrested the pilot who was flying it.
The official news channel Syria TV said the plane crashed due to technical problems during a "regular training mission". The state news agency SANA said the pilot had ejected from the plane and that a search party was underway.
Later on Monday, pro-regime troops entered Sayf al-Dawla neighborhood in western Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Meanwhile, regime forces continued their
offensives on Monday in several streets in southern Damascus and towns in Rif
Damascus, amid ongoing bloody clashes.
The death toll of the military operations in Damascus during the last 48 hours
reached 45 deaths, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
This as the General Directorate of Turkey Emergency announced that the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey amounted to 60,000.
Syria's UN human rights envoy defects:
Syria's representative at the UN Human Rights Council Danny al-Baaj defected and joined the opposition's ranks on Monday. Baaj said he had defected because he no longer felt able to do anything for the Syrian people.
Talks and International Reactions on Syria:
Syria will be suspended from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday for its violent suppression of a 17-month uprising, a diplomat said on Monday before a two-day OIC summit in Mecca.
"The resolution regarding the suspension of the Syrian membership in the OIC is not facing obstacles... It will be approved," said the diplomat, speaking on the sidelines of a preliminary foreign ministers meeting in Jeddah.
He said the decision was likely to be formally announced at the end of the second day of the summit which was called by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah earlier this month.
Commenting on the latest meeting on Syria
held in Tehran, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said
that it welcomes all efforts to help
Syria on the basis of the principles of “defense away from
external interference”.
Separately, China said on Monday that an envoy of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad would visit Beijing from Tuesday.
The envoy, Bouthaina Shaaban, would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi,
the ministry said in a statement, adding that China was also considering
inviting members of the Syrian opposition to visit.
For his part, the Syrian National Council Chief Abdul Basset Sieda called
for the formation of internationally protected buffer zones and
Turkish-Jordanian sanctuaries.
Meanwhile, defected Syrian PM Reyad Hijab blamed Iran for Assad’s “iron grip”.
He made those statements via his twitter account, adding that Hezbollah is
sending in fighters into Syrian lands to support the regime. Hijab added that
the Presidential Palace contains offices for Iranian and Hezbollah advisers.
For the full LBCI report, watch the video above.