Syria: Damascus sees heaviest and most violent fighting since the beginning of the uprising

AMMAN (Reuters) - Rebels fought government forces in Damascus on Monday, in the most violent gunbattles the Syrian capital has seen since the start of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said.

The fighting near the centre of Assad's power base appeared to be an attempt by rebels, who have been forced out of Homs and Idlib and came under attack in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Monday, to show they still pose a serious challenge.

The heavy fighting shattered the night calm in the al-Mezze district, home to intelligence offices and foreign embassies, and left two "terrorists" and one member of the security forces dead, Syria's official news agency SANA said.

The armed confrontation came just two days after a double car bombing killed at least 27 people in the heart of the city, raising fears the capital might sink into mayhem.

"These clashes were the most violent and the closest to the security force headquarters in Damascus since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution," said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

He said 18 pro-Assad fighters were wounded in the shooting, with the sound of heavy machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) echoing through the pre-dawn gloom. Reports from Syria cannot be independently verified as the authorities have barred access to rights groups and journalists. [...]

SANA reported that 13 civilians were shot dead by opposition "terrorists" near Syria's third largest city Homs on Sunday and said rebels had also destroyed a railway bridge linking Damascus to the southern Deraa region. [...]

The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed and some 230,000 forced to flee their homes, including at least 30,000 who have escaped abroad. The government says about 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed.

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