Fighting in the capital of Syria between Free Syrian army and armed forces Bashar al-Assad 1903123

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Defense News - Syria

 
 
Monday, March 19, 2012, 08:26 AM
 
Fighting in the capital of Syria between Free Syrian army and armed forces of Bashar al-Assad
A heavy firefight broke out on Monday, March 19, 2012, between Free Syrian Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in a main district of the Syrian capital Damascus that is home to several security installations, witnesses said.
     
A heavy firefight broke out on Monday, March 19, 2012, between Free Syrian Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in a main district of the Syrian capital Damascus that is home to several security installations, witnesses said.
Damaged vehicle is seen at the site after an explosion of a bomb car that went off behind a security office in Aleppo city March 18, 2012. A car bomb hit Syria's second city Aleppo on Sunday, a day after blasts killed 27 in Damascus.

     

They said the sound of heavy machinegun fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) echoed through the heavily guarded al-Mezze district. There was no immediate word on casualties but residents said by telephone the fighting was intense.

"There is fighting near Hamada supermarket and the sound of explosions there and elsewhere in the neighborhood. Security police have blocked several side streets and the street lighting has been cut off," a housewife who lives in the area said.

The fighting in the capital came after a car bomb ripped through a residential area of Syria's second city Aleppo on Sunday, and as activists reported heavy clashes across the country between state forces and rebels fighting to overthrow Assad.

As hundreds gathered on Sunday in Damascus to mourn victims of car bombings the previous day, activists said security forces beat and arrested people at a march of more than 200 when protesters began shouting "the people want to topple the regime".