The
British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights mentioned on Tuesday
that clashes in Syria specifically inside Damascus have left 11 persons
dead.
The observatory said in a statement that 2 persons died in Douma due to the severe clashes that took place at dawn.
It
also stated that more than 6 army members located in a medical center
in Douma died as rebellious opposition fighters broke into the building
and killed them.
Within this framework, the observatory said that
al-Zabadani city was shelled by Syrian regime forces besieging the city
since months.
In the same context, pro-regime troops shelled the town of Bebila
causing many injuries. Government troops based in the city of Maadimiya
opened random fire, injuring several civilians.
A Syrian-Kurdish
gunman was reportedly killed and two others were wounded by bullets
fired by Turkish soldiers along the borders. According to the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, this incident was first of its kind since
the clashes erupted in the country some18 months ago.
On another note, the Syrian Center for Legal Studies
and Research announced that the Syrian authorities arrested Khalil Maatouk, a
prominent human rights activist, while heading from his house in Sahnaya to his
office in downtown Damascus.
International positions:
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said a national dialogue leading to elections was the way towards a solution of Syria's crisis, in remarks broadcast on Wednesday.
He told Al Jazeera television that war was not the way forward, adding: "There is another way to find a solution, it is national, mutual understanding in order for there to be elections in the future."
The interview was translated from Persian into Arabic by Al Jazeera TV.
Iran has
warned Syria of using chemical weapons and stressed that the use of such
weapons leads to the loss of the government's full legitimacy.
For its part, Yemen mentioned that five of its officers detained in
Syria by an Islamist group accused of supporting the regime, are
students in the Military College of Aleppo and haven't participated in
the ongoing battles between army forces and opposition rebels in Syria.
On
Monday night, Jordanian security forces used tear gas in a Syrian
refugee camp north of the country. Forces intervened to break up a
protest which turned into riots leading to injuries among both the
refugees and security forces.
A senior Russian official urged NATO on Tuesday not to seek any pretexts for military intervention in Syria, Interfax news agency said.
It quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying Moscow, an ally of Damascus, opposed the creation of buffer zones or humanitarian corridors in Syria and called for calm between Turkey and Syria over tension on their border.
The U.N. Refugee
Agency announced that the number of Syrian refugees has increased by three
folds since June, exceeding 300,000. It expected this number to double by the
end of this year.
After countless speeches, meetings and behind-the-scenes discussions, the war in Syria remained the unsolved problem that loomed over this year's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
As the week-long meeting of the U.N. General Assembly ended Monday, there were no breakthroughs on a civil war that has vexed diplomats, paralyzed the Security Council and raised new questions about the relevance of the United Nations. For more on this story, click
here.
LBCI/REUTERS/AP