Syrian forces backed by helicopter gunships and tanks launched a deadly assault on parts of Damascus yesterday, activists said, as the regime battles to stamp out rebel resistance in the capital.
At least 37 people were reported killed in Damascus alone, a day after a top minister hinted that the embattled regime was ready to discuss President Bashar al-Assad’s exit in any talks on ending the brutal 17-month conflict.
Fighter jets and artillery hit Aleppo and heavy shelling was reported in Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising, and the eastern town of Deir Ezzor, while rebels claimed they had seized parts of a town on the Iraq border.
The army attacked several areas where anti-regime sentiment is strong in and around southwest Damascus, including heavy shelling, helicopter fire and mass arrest sweeps, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
In the deadliest operation yesterday, the army raided the southwestern district of Kafr Sousa, killing at least 24 civilians, it said, while a pro-opposition journalist was also killed during a raid on his home in Damascus.
“The shelling is random, and shabiha (pro-regime militiamen) are moving freely through the district,” an activist said via Skype, adding that fearful residents were trapped in their homes.
The violence, which erupted a day after dozens of people were reported killed during a funeral in a Damascus suburb and others summarily executed, was some of the worst since regime forces reclaimed most of the capital a month ago. As the fighting raged, the United States and France again pushed for Assad to stand down quickly after a top Syrian official said Damascus was ready to discuss his exit as part of a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
“As far as his resignation goes, making the resignation itself a condition for holding dialogue means that you will never be able to reach this dialogue,” Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil was reported as saying in Moscow.
But he added: “Any problems can be discussed during negotiations. We are even ready to discuss this issue.”
Moscow, however, bluntly told the West not to meddle in Syria after US President Barack Obama hinted at possible military action if Damascus resorted to its chemical weapons arsenal.
“There should be no interference from the outside,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after his talks with Mr Jamil. “The only thing that foreign players should do is create conditions for the start of dialogue.”
But Washington was unimpressed by the apparent overture from Damascus.
“We still believe that the faster Assad goes, the more chance there is to quickly move on to the day after,” US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, dismissing Mr Jamil’s comments as “nothing terribly new”.
At least 84 people were killed across the nation yesterday, according to the Observatory, which says a total of over 23,000 people have died since the uprising began in March 2011.
The army claimed to have retaken most of Damascus in late July, after weeks of intense fighting across the southern belt. Most rebel Free Syrian Army fighters were forced out into the nearby countryside, but have since resumed hit-and-run operations.