Syria: Armored vehicles head for Damascus districts after heavy clashes

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers clashing with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago. (AP Photo)

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Clashes between rebels and government forces erupted for a second day in the Syrian capital on Monday, activists said, in some of the fiercest fighting to hit Damascus since the 17-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began.

Armored vehicles rolled into the southern district of Midan and snipers deployed on rooftops, residents said. Heavy machine gun fire could be heard in video uploaded by activists in the area.

"Security forces entered the neighborhood, there is a real war going on right now," a resident in Midan said.

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