Clashes in Damascus between rebels and state forces raged for a third day, in the fiercest fighting to hit Syria’s seat of power since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began 17 months ago.
Security forces and armoured vehicles surrounded rebellious areas such as the southern district of Midan but have been unable to rout opposition fighters, activists say.
The encroachment of violence into the Syrian capital, Assad’s home and government stronghold, comes as United Nations envoy Kofi Annan is visiting Moscow to promote a peace plan for Syria.
He will meet President Vladimir Putin, but Russia still appears resistant to Western calls for Moscow to increase pressure on Assad.
Video uploaded by opposition activists showed men in jeans hiding in sandbagged alleyways, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns amid clouds of dust as gunfire crackled. Rebels burned tyres and blocked some streets to ease pressure on the fighters. Black columns of smoke billowed over the capital.
Activists said artillery and rocket fire hit the opposition area of Tadamon, on the outskirts of the capital.
Residents in Midan said snipers deployed on rooftops.
«There are troops everywhere, I can hear ambulances,» said a resident near Midan. «It feels like a war in Damascus.»
The government has said little about the unrest moving to the capital. State television reported on Monday that security forces were chasing «terrorist groups» hiding in some neighbourhoods in Damascus.
One fighter told reporters the rebels were continuing their fight because they had no way to retreat to safer areas. «If they could leave, they would,» he said.
Opposition activists said clashes close to the seat of government showed that rebels were chipping away at state power in a capital once seen as Assad’s impenetrable stronghold.
«When you turn your guns against the heart of Damascus, on Midan, you have lost the city,» said Damascus-based activist Imad Moaz. «The rebels in the street have the support of families across Damascus.»
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