Syrian troops backed by tanks entered the center of Daraya, a town on the southwest edge of Damascus, on Friday after three days of heavy ground and helicopter bombardment, opposition activists said.
Hundreds of troops and tens of tanks and armored vehicles were seen on al-Thawra street in the downtown Daraya, taking control of the sprawling suburb as a core group of Free Syrian Army fighters who had been defending the center pulled out, several activists said by phone from the Syrian capital.
Earlier today, the Syrian observatory for human rights reported that Syrian forces’ bombardment and other military actions are ongoing across Aleppo and several Syrian cities. This has led to the destruction of several homes across the country.
The shelling in Aleppo targeted the neighborhoods of Salah El-Dine, Al-Soukari, Al-Zabadiya, and Seif Al-Dawla, resulting in injuries among the residents of Hanano and Al-Kallasa.
The official news agency SANA reported that the army performed a qualitative operation leading to the destruction of 40 cars equipped with Dushka machine guns including one from Jarables, at Aleppo’s countryside.
At least 24,495 people have been killed in violence in Syria since
the outbreak of an anti-regime revolt in March last year turned into a
bloody conflict, a Britain-based watchdog said.
"A total of 17,281 civilians have been killed in Syria in the past 17
months, including those who took up arms to join the rebellion," said
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syrian refugees top 200,000 as exodus grows
More than 200,000 Syrians have poured into neighbouring countries during the conflict, surpassing the 185,000 the U.N. refugee agency had expected to flee by the end of the year.
The total reflects an increase of about 30,000 in the past week alone to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, but also takes into account those awaiting registration in Jordan, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
International Positions:
The Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salhi, declared that Iran will present a suggestion to settle the disputes in Syria in the Non-Aligned Summit in Tehran next week.
LBCI/REUTERS