Syrian Troops Bombard Locations Across Country

Posted July 22nd, 2012 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

A Syrian watchdog group says government troops are bombarding locations across the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports Sunday that government bombardments are under way in the capital, Damascus, as well as the provinces of Homs and Deir Izzor. Clashes between government and rebel forces have also been reported in Aleppo province.

The Observatory says the “sounds of rockets and heavy vehicles” have been heard in the Mazzah district in Damascus.

On Saturday, Damascus residents said the city was largely calm after days of heavy clashes that left corpses on the streets.

The United Nations has reported an estimated 30,000 Syrians have crossed into Lebanon since Thursday. Authorities in Iraq say about 1,000 people arrived from Damascus by air, while thousands more people trying to escape the escalating violence arrived from Syria by land.

Turkey has registered more than 43,000 refugees from Syria, but many others are believed to have crossed into Turkish territory without being counted.

An attempt by Western and Arab nations to impose U.N. Security Council sanctions on Syria failed this past week after Russia and China vetoed the plan.