REPORT: Damascus violence forces even most resolute Syrians to flee

             
Syrian President Bashar Assad said that the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan has not said any “word of truth” since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, noting that Erdogan’s government is involved in the bloodshed taking place in Syria.          

Commenting on the assassination of Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, Assad said, in an interview with “Olossal” Turkish TV Channel and “Oidnlak" Turkish newspaper to be published on Friday, that the position of clerics, including al-Buti, was essential in thwarting the plan aiming at creating sectarian strife, “this is why they killed al-Buti and another religious man in Aleppo two days earlier,” he added.           

This comes as a new exodus is flowing from Syria as fighting edges closer to the heart of Damascus - those who swore they would never flee are selling their belongings to escape a battle now raging on their doorsteps.           

Many Syrians in the capital had long asserted that the uprising-turned-civil war would not breach the city center. Others insisted they would stay, no matter the consequences.    

But fear has begun to grip even the most resolute residents.          

For many the tipping point was a hail of mortar bombs and rockets that shook Damascus for several days last month as rebels and troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad brought tit-for-tat bombardments to the core of the capital.         

March was the most violent month in Syria's two-year-old civil war, with an estimated 6,000 people killed after increased fighting around Damascus and the southern province of Daraa.         

More than 1 million Syrian refugees have already left, with thousands more fleeing daily. Aid groups operating in Syria say around 4 million others have been displaced inside the country, often having to move from place to place as violence spreads.

On the field:

Violent clashes dragged on across Syria, while SANA News Agency reported on Wednesday that the Syrian regime has come to grips with some areas in the city of Daraya in rural Damascus, noting that terrorists were killed in Aleppo.

***To watch an extract of the interview, please click on this link


REUTERS/LBCI

For the full report, please click on the VIDEO above