Syria troops shell Aleppo neighborhoods

Syrian activists reported that regime forces are shelling districts of Aleppo as fierce clashes continue on the ground for control of the key northern city.      

Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Saeed said the shelling is most intense in the southwestern neighborhoods of Salaheddine and Saif al-Dawla, some of the first areas seized by the rebels when they started last week a push to take over the city after being routed from the capital Damascus.      

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported heavy fighting and explosions in Aleppo Sunday.       

The government said security agents were hunting down armed groups in Salaheddine.      

The state-run news agency SANA quoted an Aleppo official as saying that troops would continue to pursue "terrorists" until the city is "purged" of armed groups.  

In this context, the opposition Syrian National Council said on Sunday that the army was hitting key public institutions in its bombardment of rebel fighters in commercial capital Aleppo, some of historical significance.          

In this context, U.S. Secretary State of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Istanbul next week to hold talks with the Turkish government on the crisis in Syria, a State Department spokeswoman said on Sunday.      

Separately, hundreds of people in Sydney, Australia, staged a protest in support of the Assad regime. The protesters also voiced objection to any foreign interference in the conflict.

In international positions, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said he’s against foreign military intervention in Syria to stop violations of human rights in the country, noting that the failure of diplomatic efforts should not lead to military intervention.