Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that the army's battle with
rebel forces would determine the fate of his country, and praised
soldiers for confronting what he said were "criminal terrorist gangs".
"The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle," Assad, who has not spoken in public for two weeks, said in a written statement marking armed forces day on Wednesday.
Assad said the army was waging a "heroic" battle against the enemy and the country was engaged in a "crucial battle for its destiny".
Earlier on Wednesday, fierce fighting between the rebels and the army erupted near two Christian areas of central Damascus for the first time in the nearly 17-month uprising, as the battle for Aleppo continued into its 12th day.
Fighter jets
Also on Wednesday, the United Nations mission in Syria says its observers have witnessed government fighter jets opening fire on Aleppo, the country's largest city.
In a briefing on Wednesday, mission spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh also said the UN had confirmation that the rebels now have heavy weapons of their own, including tanks.
Ghosheh expressed concern over the situation in the northern city of
Aleppo, where rebels have been battling government forces for the past
12 days.
She described "heavy use of heavy weapons, including tanks, helicopters, heavy machine guns, as well as artillery".
In fighting across other parts of the country, at least one government soldier was killed in clashes in Damascus' Bab Tuma and Bab Sharqi districts, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the UK-based activist group, said.
"This is fighting in areas where it has not happened before. These are areas where the rebels have so far not had access," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told the AFP news agency.
Bab Tuma and Bab Sharqi in the Old City of Damascus were previously popular with tourists and were the scene of several pro-regime protests in the past.
Furthermore, the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), which organises protests on the ground, reported a blast and heavy gunfire from Baghdad Street, a main route in Syria's capital.
The LCC also said that the capital's southern suburb of Tadamun was hit by mortar fire at dawn.
'Mother of battles'
Since July 20, the battle between the rebels and government forces had focused on Aleppo.
There were bombings during the night northwest of Aleppo, while heavy machinegun fire and rocket fire were also reported in the area.
"The army and the terrorist groups have both sent reinforcements for a
decisive battle that should last several weeks" in Aleppo, a Damascus
security source told the AFP.
The rebels sent in reinforcements from nearby Turkey after seizing a strategic checkpoint just outside Aleppo.
"The Syrian army is surrounding rebel districts, and is bombing them, but it is going to take its time before it launches its assault on each neighbourhood," the security source said.
The Observatory said fighting on Tuesday in Aleppo was the fiercest so far in a contest that state media had billed as the "mother of all battles".
"Hundreds of rebels attacked the police stations in Salhin and Bab al-Nayrab [neighbourhoods] and at least 40 policemen were killed during the fighting, which lasted for hours," Abdel Rahman said.
They later seized a third police station in Hanano, the Observatory said.
'Disturbing abuses'
Amnesty International, the human rights group, accused regime forces of conducting a brutal crackdown against dissidents in Aleppo.
"The current onslaught on the city of Aleppo, which puts civilians even more at grave risk, is a predictable development which follows the disturbing pattern of abuses by state forces across the country," said Amnesty's Donatella Rovera in a report on the Syrian crisis.
The UN observer mission in Syria, deployed to monitor a putative ceasefire, said the army was using helicopters, tanks and artillery against rebels who seized large swathes of the city.
It appealed to both sides to protect civilians as the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that 200,000 people had fled the Aleppo area amid "continuous raging violence".
"The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle," Assad, who has not spoken in public for two weeks, said in a written statement marking armed forces day on Wednesday.
Assad said the army was waging a "heroic" battle against the enemy and the country was engaged in a "crucial battle for its destiny".
Earlier on Wednesday, fierce fighting between the rebels and the army erupted near two Christian areas of central Damascus for the first time in the nearly 17-month uprising, as the battle for Aleppo continued into its 12th day.
Fighter jets
Also on Wednesday, the United Nations mission in Syria says its observers have witnessed government fighter jets opening fire on Aleppo, the country's largest city.
In a briefing on Wednesday, mission spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh also said the UN had confirmation that the rebels now have heavy weapons of their own, including tanks.
She described "heavy use of heavy weapons, including tanks, helicopters, heavy machine guns, as well as artillery".
In fighting across other parts of the country, at least one government soldier was killed in clashes in Damascus' Bab Tuma and Bab Sharqi districts, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the UK-based activist group, said.
"This is fighting in areas where it has not happened before. These are areas where the rebels have so far not had access," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told the AFP news agency.
Bab Tuma and Bab Sharqi in the Old City of Damascus were previously popular with tourists and were the scene of several pro-regime protests in the past.
Furthermore, the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), which organises protests on the ground, reported a blast and heavy gunfire from Baghdad Street, a main route in Syria's capital.
The LCC also said that the capital's southern suburb of Tadamun was hit by mortar fire at dawn.
'Mother of battles'
Since July 20, the battle between the rebels and government forces had focused on Aleppo.
There were bombings during the night northwest of Aleppo, while heavy machinegun fire and rocket fire were also reported in the area.
The rebels sent in reinforcements from nearby Turkey after seizing a strategic checkpoint just outside Aleppo.
"The Syrian army is surrounding rebel districts, and is bombing them, but it is going to take its time before it launches its assault on each neighbourhood," the security source said.
The Observatory said fighting on Tuesday in Aleppo was the fiercest so far in a contest that state media had billed as the "mother of all battles".
"Hundreds of rebels attacked the police stations in Salhin and Bab al-Nayrab [neighbourhoods] and at least 40 policemen were killed during the fighting, which lasted for hours," Abdel Rahman said.
They later seized a third police station in Hanano, the Observatory said.
'Disturbing abuses'
Amnesty International, the human rights group, accused regime forces of conducting a brutal crackdown against dissidents in Aleppo.
"The current onslaught on the city of Aleppo, which puts civilians even more at grave risk, is a predictable development which follows the disturbing pattern of abuses by state forces across the country," said Amnesty's Donatella Rovera in a report on the Syrian crisis.
The UN observer mission in Syria, deployed to monitor a putative ceasefire, said the army was using helicopters, tanks and artillery against rebels who seized large swathes of the city.
It appealed to both sides to protect civilians as the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that 200,000 people had fled the Aleppo area amid "continuous raging violence".
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