Asia

Home page

Asia

Syrian army regains control of rebel-held neighborhood in restive Homs

12 June 2012 03:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Syrian mainstream media said Monday the Syrian army regained full control of the rebel-held areas in central Homs province, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Pro-government media said the army recaptured the central neighborhood of Khalidieh and Bab Sba’a, which had been controlled by the rebels of Free Syrian Army.

The latest army operation indicates that the Syrian government has become more impatient with the bold and brazen attacks by the armed rebels, who have tried recently to stir battles in the heart of the capital Damascus.

Meanwhile, the UN observers’ spokesperson expressed "deep concerns" over the deteriorating situation in the conflict- battered Homs on Monday, following activists’ reports of severe clashes between armed rebels and Syrian government troops.

UN observers reported heavy fighting in Rastan and Talbiseh in Homs, Suasan Ghosheh told reporters Monday afternoon.

Homs, home to about one million Syrian people, has emerged as a main battleground between armed groups and Syrian government troops.

And in the northern mountainous area of Haffeh, clashes were reported Monday in area close to the coastal Latakia city. Activists reported heavy clashes and shelling by government troops.

A cameraman that works for the private al-Ekhabaria TV was shot in the chest by "armed groups" while trying to cover the conflict there.

The UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan expressed worries Monday about the escalation of violence in the unrest-torn country especially after reports of using mortar shells and tanks in Homs and Haffeh, according a statement issued by Annan’s spokesman Ahamd Fawzi.

According to the UN estimation, over 9,000 people died in Syria ’s 15-month-old unrest. The Syrian authorities said that over 2, 000 troops were killed while fighting foreign-backed armed groups or by armed attacks on government establishments.