Conflict in the World - Syria

Rebels claimed to destroy several government armoured vehicles. Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi of the rebel Free Syrian Army said his forces on Saturday had repulsed troops in Salaheddin district and that the regime offensive had been temporarily stopped.

Instead of a direct assault with tanks and troops, which are vulnerable on narrow streets, the government may rely on shelling and fire by helicopter gunships. That was the strategy employed this year in the central city of Homs, where weeks of shelling finally forced rebels out of the Baba Amr district and left much of the area in ruins.

Syrian government troops said they had recaptured a district of Syria's largest city Aleppo, after heavy fighting against rebels who remain in control of swathes of the commercial hub despite being pushed out of the capital Damascus.

The Syrian government also declared victory on Sunday in the battle for the capital, which the rebels assaulted in force two weeks ago but have been repulsed in unprecedented fighting.