Syrian troops dislodge armed rebels from orchards area of Damascus
A pro-government Syrian TV said the government troops cleansed armed fighters from another neighborhood of the capital Damascus on Sunday after 24 hours of intense fighting.
The Razi Orchards, from where the fighters were driven off, had emerged as a hub of armed insurgency against the government in recent months of the Syrian crisis.
In the past 24 hours, the sprawling
area witnessed severe clashes between the army and the rebels, who now
apparently fight in a gorilla style aimed at sapping their rivals.
Pro-government al-Ekhbaria TV aired a footage of alleged armed men being rounded up, and Arabic-language Iranian al-Alam TV said more than 40 armed men were killed in the area in the past few hours.
Prior to the latest clash, the Syrian government had declared several areas in Damascus as "rebel-free."
Armed conflicts started in the capital last Sunday in what the rebels' Free Syrian Army called "the final battle of Damascus."
The rebels managed to deal a strong blow to the administration of the President Bashar al-Assad last Friday when they blasted a conference room and killed four officials from leader's inner circle.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said the humanitarian situation in Damascus continues to worsen and the people are fleeing the violence and seeking refuge in other countries.
(VietNamNet/Xinhuanet)
