A standoff loomed Sunday between Syrian rebels and government forces
near Aleppo as the battle for control of the most populous city
intensified and the regime deployed heavy weapons to drive out the
fighters.
Government artillery and helicopter gunships pounded
rebel positions, according to opposition activists.
"The buzzing of the
warplanes don't stop," said Bashir Al-Hajji, a spokesman for a Free
Syrian Army brigade in Aleppo. "But we already started to move forward
from the eastern neighborhoods and God willing, the fight will be over
soon and we will be victorious."
Al-Hajji said clashes
have raged for hours at various spots near the Aleppo city center,
including close to the presidential palace. He said he is in the
Industrial City of Aleppo, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city
of Aleppo, which is the commercial capital.
Rebel fighters said they have surrounded the highest point in Aleppo, where regime forces are holed up.
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Two large columns of government troops are heading toward the city, according to Free Syrian Army fighters.
Members of the Free
Syrian Army are trying to stop the approaching troops by attacking them
in Idlib province, said Mohamed Said, an Aleppo spokesman for the Syrian
Revolution General Commission.
As rebels scrambled to
fend off regime forces in Aleppo, more gunfire erupted in other parts of
Syria, with at least 67 killed nationwide Sunday, the opposition Local
Coordination Committees said.
The deaths included 33 in Damascus and its suburbs and eight in Aleppo, the group said.
United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation may get worse in
Aleppo, describing it as "the epicenter of a vicious battle between the
Syrian government and those who wish to replace it."
Rebels in Aleppo exude
gritty confidence and possess growing clout. They say they are in charge
of significant parts of the city and are working to wrest control of
the entire sprawling metropolis from the better-equipped forces of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The regime reported
deaths, injuries and the capture of "terrorists" -- who Syria has
consistently said are behind attacks -- in several neighborhoods of
Aleppo on Saturday.
Opposition activists,
meanwhile, said al-Assad's forces had unleashed persistent and powerful
bombs and shelling, while rebels have launched their own attacks in
multiple neighborhoods.
That includes a brazen
push Friday to seize a state-run broadcasting building in Aleppo. Rebels
pushed into the radio and TV complex, and took over parts of it, before
eventually withdrawing because of snipers and military shelling, the
opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
Syria's civil war is hardly confined to Aleppo.
On state TV, Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad's regime said dozens of "terrorists" were
killed or injured in an explosion at an ammunition and improvised
explosive device storage site in Homs.
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Around Syria's capital,
"armed terrorists" attacked a bus carrying 48 Iranian Shiite pilgrims
and kidnapped them, Iranian state media said. Syrian state media also
reported the abduction and said it is under investigation.
It is unclear whether
the hijacking is linked to the uprising against the Syrian government.
The Iranian government is an ally of the al-Assad regime, which has been
fighting a rebel movement dominated by Sunnis.
Iran is asking Turkey to step in to help free the pilgrims, according to IRNA, Tehran's state media.
In a phone call to his
Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi asked for "prompt
intervention of Ankara" to help release the pilgrims, IRNA said
Saturday.
Turkey has tense
relations with the Syrian regime and is sympathetic to the rebels.
Television network Al Arabiya aired video purporting to show the
pilgrims detained by Syrian rebels.
In the video, a
commander of the Free Syrian Army says the 48 people abducted are
revolutionary guards and not pilgrims. CNN cannot independently verify
the authenticity of the video.
Iran's Defense Minister
Gen. Ahmad Vahidi insisted, "Iran has no military personnel in Syria.
Syria has a very strong army and enjoys the support of the people,"
according to Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency.
And Kazem Jalali, a
member of the country's national security commission, said Sunday that
the abducted pilgrims had traveled to Syria individually and not through
official channels, according to Iran state-run news agency IRNA.
Roughly 17,000 people
have been killed since the Syrian conflict first flared in March 2011,
when government forces began cracking down on protesters, Ban said last
month. Opposition activists put the toll at more than 20,000.
The violence has
intensified during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began July
21 in Syria and ends this month, the Red Cross said.
Meanwhile, the Syrian
envoy to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, said his family received
numerous death threats in the United States. He has reported the
threats to U.S. officials, according to Syrian state media.
Hillary Clinton plans to visit Turkey on Saturday to discuss the Syrian crisis, the State Department said.