Patrick McCormick of the U.N.
children's fund said the toll included children, as the government of Bashar
al-Assad fights to suppress an 18-month uprising against its rule.
Nearly 5,000 people died in
August, according to the Center of Documentation of Violation in Syria, which
put the toll for the month at 4,937.
And there appeared to be no letup
in the violence on Sunday, with opposition sources saying at least 144 people
were killed across the country.
Free Syrian Army fighters take up positions in a shelled
out building in the Seif El Dawla neighborhood of Aleppo on Sunday, September 2,
as clashes with Syrian government forces continue.
A Free Syrian Army fighter peeks around the corner of a
building during a shootout with snipers on a street in the El Amreeyeh
neighborhood of Aleppo.
Syrian detainees who were arrested for participation in
protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime sign their release
papers at the Damascus police leadership building Saturday, September 1.
Syrian prisoners wait in line to sign their release papers
at the Damascus central police station on Saturday, as the authorities released
158 people from the facility.
Syrian prisoners congratulate each other as they walk out
of the Damascus central police station.
A Syrian air force fighter jet launches missiles at El Edaa
district in Syria's northwestern city of Aleppo. Nearly 18 months of violence
have left thousands dead in Syria.
Smoke rises from the El Edaa district after a Syrian
fighter jet dropped missiles.
Civilians carry their belongings and flee the El Edaa
district after an airstrike.
Escaping civilians drive through the El Amreeyeh
neighborhood in Aleppo.
Free Syrian Army fighters transport explosives on a
motorbike in Aleppo on Friday, August 31.
A boy sits at a window spotted with bullet holes at a
local bakery.
Children pass a bagged body outside a hospital in Aleppo
on Thursday, August 30.
Members of the Syrian opposition carry a wounded man
outside a hospital in Aleppo on Thursday, August 30.
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks through a hole in a
damaged house on his way to the El Amreeyeh neighborhood frontline during
clashes with government forces in Aleppo.
Free Syrian Army fighters take up position during clashes
in the El Amreeyeh neighborhood of Aleppo.
Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover after Syrian
forces fired a mortar in El Amreeyeh.
A Syrian opposition fighter aims a sniper rifle at
government forces in Aleppo on Wednesday, August 29.
Syrian opposition fighters swear an oath for the
liberation of Syria in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Free Syrian Army fighters carry a wounded member into a
hospital in Aleppo on Tuesday, August 28.
Free Syrian Army rebels dodge fire from Syrian forces as
they run down a street in Aleppo on Tuesday.
A rebel fighter takes cover during clashes Tuesday with
government forces in Aleppo.
An opposition fighter fires at government forces from a
street in Aleppo.
Residents walk past buildings damaged in what activists
said was an airstrike by the Syrian air force on Kafranbel, near Idlib.
Doctors treat a wounded girl at a hospital in Aleppo,
Syria's largest city, on Tuesday.
Residents look over the bodies of people killed in the
violence Tuesday.
Civilians flee the violence from the Damascus suburb of
Kafr Batna.
A man reacts as an ambulance arrives with the body of a
Free Syrian Army fighter outside a hospital in Aleppo.
A paramedic and another man cover the body of a Free
Syrian Army fighter outside a hospital in Aleppo.
Smoke rises in the Damascus suburb of Ain Terma during
clashes between Syrian rebels and pro-government forces.
A boy rides a bicycle toward fuel trucks struck by
missiles from fighter jets in the Bab al-Nayrab district of Aleppo, Syria, on
Monday, August 27.
Fuel tankers smoke and smolder after being struck by
missiles in Aleppo on Monday.
Syrian army fighters discuss a new tactic to push the
front lines in the Seif El Dawla neighborhood of Aleppo on Monday.
A Free Syrian Army sniper takes his position in Seif El
Dawla on Monday.
Men arrested for their involvement in anti-regime protests
wait to be released in Damascus on Monday. The official Syrian news agency
reported that authorities released 378 people detained for their participation
in street protests, adding that those freed were never involved in acts of
violence.
Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover in the old city of
Aleppo on Monday.
A woman sits in her wheelchair next to her house, damaged
by an army air raid, near Homs on Sunday, August 26.
Rebel fighters run for cover during continued clashes with
government forces in Aleppo on Saturday, August 25.
Rebel fighters fire in the streets against pro-Syrian
government forces.
A street in Aleppo is covered in rubble from heavy
fighting between rebels and Syrian government forces.
A picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows
Syrian soldiers carrying the body of an alleged rebel fighter in Aleppo.
A handout picture released by SANA shows army soldiers
burning a revolution flag in Aleppo.
A rebel fighter communicates to his commanders during
ongoing fighting in Aleppo's Mashhad neighborhood.
Residents line up along a street in Aleppo as they wait to
receive free bread.
Displaced Syrian familes sit in a shelter at the border
with Turkey after fleeing their homes from violence.
A Syrian boy whose family has been displaced due to
fighting between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces stands in a field
near the border with Turkey.
A boy receives treatment for wounds he received during an
airstrike by a regime forces helicopter in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on
Friday, August 24. Government forces blitzed areas in and around Syria's largest
city, activists said, as Western powers sought to tighten the the reins on
embattled President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes aim at regime forces
during clashes in Aleppo.
A young boy runs across the street during clashes between
Free Syrian Army fighters and forces loyal to al-Assad.
A Syrian man reacts outside an operation room as doctors
treat his grandchildren after an airstrike by regime forces.
A Syrian boy receives treatment after he was wounded by
shells from a government helicopter that hit his house.
Family and friends look for the bodies of a woman and her
two daughters killed by an airstrike on Sunday, August 19. See more photos from
Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, who has spent a total of about five months covering
different parts of Syria since 2011.
People gather around the bodies of an entire family killed
by the airstrike the day before on Friday, August 17, in front of a hospital.
Two children are treated for shrapnel wounds at a hospital
on Thursday, August 16.
Members of the Free Syrian Army clash with Syrian army
soldiers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district on August 22.
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a handmade bomb in the Saif
al-Dawla district in the center of Aleppo on August 22.
Syrian rebels run for cover during heavy fighting in the
Saif al-Dawla district in the center of Aleppo on August 22.
Members of the Free Syrian Army take up positions as smoke
rises in the background during clashes with Syrian army soldiers on August 22.
A member of the Free Syrian Army aims his rifle as he uses
doors as a shield on August 22.
Members of the Free Syrian Army take cover during clashes
with Syrian Army soldiers on August 22.
A Syrian rebel fires towards a pro-government sniper in
the Said al-Dawla district of Aleppo on August 22.
Smoke rises from Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district after
what activists say was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar
al-Assad on August 21.
Mourning relatives gather at the funeral of a Free Syrian
Army fighter killed during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood of
central Aleppo on August 21.
Syrian rebel fighters stand around a cache of homemade
missiles which they say they will use on forces loyal to president Bashar
al-Assad in Aleppo on August 21.
The father of Amar Ali Amero, a Free Syrian Army fighter
who was reportedly killed by a sniper in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central
Aleppo, mourns during his funeral in Azaz, north of Aleppo, on August 21.
People pray during the funeral of the Free Syrian Army
fighter, Amar Ali Amero on August 21.
A Member of the Free Syrian Army fires during clashes with
Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district, on August 20.
A skirmish in the street of Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla
district between members of the Free Syrian Army and Syrian army soldiers on
August 20.
A man cries near the graves of his two children killed
during a recent Syrian Air Force air strike in Azaz on August 20.
Members of the Free Syrian Army prepare their weapons in
Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district on Monday, August 20.
Syrian bakers work in the northern city of Aleppo on
Sunday, August 19, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy
fasting month of Ramadan.
In this image provided by Syria's national news agency,
SANA, President Bashar al-Assad, center, is greeted by a cleric while attending
Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hamad mosque in Damascus on Sunday, August 19.
Members of the Free Syrian Army and residents try to
extinguish a fire that they say was caused by shelling by forces loyal to
al-Assad in the Damascus suburb of Saqba on Friday, August 17.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes aim during clashes in
Aleppo on Friday, August 17. For days, the northern Syrian city has been at the
center of some of the worst fighting in the 18-month-old conflict.
A rebel fighter makes his way through a hole in a wall
during fighting Friday in Aleppo, Syria's largest city.
A rebel climbs some stairs in a building during clashes in
central Aleppo's Salaheddine neighborhood.
A rebel fighter runs for cover as a Syrian army tank shell
hits a nearby building Friday in Aleppo. The opposition accuses Syrian forces of
shelling flashpoint neighborhoods in Aleppo where rebels are making a stand.
Free Syrian Army fighters dress a mannequin to look like a
fighter to draw gunfire away from them Friday in Aleppo.
Free Syrian Army fighters rest Friday in Aleppo during a
lull in fighting.
A fighter with the rebel Free Syrian Army secures a street
Friday in the Damascus suburb of Saqba. Fighting raged unabated Friday across
Syria, while diplomats struggled to find a political solution.
Members of the Free Syrian Army try to secure a street
Friday in Saqba.
The Free Syrian Army takes charge of a street in
Saqba.
A rebel holds a rocket-propelled grenade Friday in the
Damascus suburb.
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an anti-aircraft gun at a
Syrian air force helicopter in Aleppo on Thursday, August 16.
Free Syrian Army fighters carry the body of a fellow
fighter during clashes Thursday in Aleppo. Government forces are pounding
Syria's largest city in a siege that's become the focal point of the civil
war.
A grief-stricken woman clutches her dead baby while her
husband's body is covered up following a regime airstrike on Azaz, a town near
Aleppo, on Wednesday, August 15.
Syrians search for people trapped under the rubble after
the airstrike Wednesday in Azaz, near Aleppo.
A man removes his belongings from his destroyed car at the
airstrike site.
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an AK-47 rifle in Aleppo
on Wednesday, August 15.
Syrians carry the body of a woman after an airstrike in
Azaaz.
A Syrian man reacts after an airstrike in Azaaz.
Syrians flee Azaaz following the airstrike.
A Syrian youth holds the arm of someone trapped under
rubble after an airstrike in the town of Azaaz, on the outskirts of Aleppo.
Black smoke billows into the air after a bomb exploded at
a military site car park near a hotel used by United Nations monitors in
Damascus. The explosion Wedesday wounded three people, Syrian state television
said.
Firefighters work at the scene of a bomb explosion in
central Damascus. The bomb was planted under a diesel tanker.
A man carries the body of a boy after a Syrian Air Force
strike on Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo.
A man sits in front of tombstone workshop in
Aleppo.
Jordanian security guards patrol the entrance of the
Zaatari refugee camp, located outside the northern Mafraq, Jordan, which borders
Syria. Refugees face the hardships of sweltering heat, dust, lack of electricity
and at times sexual harassment in this UN-run desert tent camp.
Jordanian security officers detain a Syrian man after he
tried to escape from the Zaatari refugee camp in Mafraq.
A Free Syrian Army fighter learns that his commander has
been killed by a tank shell in Aleppo on Tuesday, August 14. Opposition
activists say shelling in dissident strongholds has exacerbated the humanitarian
crisis in the country.
Free Syrian Army fighters look at the body of their
commander killed by a tank shell Tuesday in Aleppo.
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his rifle in Aleppo on
Tuesday.
Syrian rebels fire toward a sniper in Aleppo on Monday,
August 13, as fighting continues against Syrian government forces.
A rebel fighter fires at government forces Monday in
Aleppo's Salaheddin neighborhood.
A Syrian rebel climbs a staircase in Aleppo's Salaheddin
district as the opposition battles the regime.
A man gives bags of bread to customers at a bakery run by
the opposition Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria's largest city.
Rebels covered in dust and debris emerge from a building
hit by an army tank shell Monday in Aleppo's Salaheddin area.
A rebel fighter gestures toward others after emerging
from a shelled building during fighting Monday with government forces.
A Free Syrian Army sniper looks through the sight on his
rifle from a house in Aleppo on Monday.
Free Syrian Army fighters walk down a debris-covered
street Monday in central Aleppo's Salaheddine neighborhood.
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG as a Syrian army
tank shell hits a building across a street during heavy fighting in central
Aleppo on Saturday, August 11.
A Free Syrian Army fighter sits on a window sill as he
holds an AK-47 rifle in central Aleppo.
A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his rifle during heavy
fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG after a Syrian
army tank shell hit a building during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine
neighborhood.
A Free Syrian Army fighter tries to fix his jammed rifle
during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.
A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover during heavy
fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.
Free Syrian Army fighters walk through a damaged building
during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.
A Free Syrian Army fighter aims an RPG as he waits for
Syrian army tanks in the Salaheddine neighborhood.
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks on an empty street in
the Salaheddine neighborhood.
Free Syrian Army members check a confiscated cache of
weapons found on a truck that was searched at a checkpoint in Dana.
A rebel fighter fires an anti-aircraft gun during a
regime airstrike on Tel Rafat, a village north of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 9.
The Syrian government and rebel groups have been battling for control of Aleppo,
a key front in the conflict that has morphed into a civil war.
A Syrian air force fighter plane fires during an
airstrike Thursday in Tel Rafat, north of Aleppo. Forces loyal to the regime
have been shelling Aleppo, Syria's largest city.
A truck burns after apparently being hit by rockets
during an airstrike on Tel Rafat.
Men carry the body of a boy killed in an airstrike in the
village of Tel Rafat.
A boy's body is uncovered in the rubble of a house
demolished during the recent clashes in Tel Rafat.
A man steps on a carpeted image of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad in Anadan, northwest of Aleppo, on Wednesday, August 8. The
fighting has taken a toll on al-Assad's regime, which has been hit by
assassinations and political and military defections.
Residents sift through rubble Wednesday searching for
bodies under a collapsed house destroyed in an airstrike.
Syrian refugees bathe Wednesday at Al Zaatri U.N. camp in
the Mafraq, Jordan, near the border with Syria. The recent shelling has led
thousands of residents to flee Syria.
Syrian refugees cook a meal at Al Zaatari camp in Mafraq,
Jordan.
A Syrian rebel prepares his weapon as a group of Free
Syrian Army fighters head toward the fighting with Syrian Army soldiers in the
Salah ad-Din neighborhood of central Aleppo on Sunday, August 5.
Syrians evacuate a civilian wounded in shelling in the
northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4. Syria's armed forces pounded
Aleppo's rebel-held Salah ad-Din district with air and ground fire as violence
also raged in the Shaar and Sukkari districts, according to reporters in the
area and a rebel commander.
A vehicle burns as Syrians walk through debris from
clashes between Syrian armed forces and rebels in the northern city of Aleppo on
Saturday, August 4.
A boy plays on the gun of a destroyed Syrian army tank
partially covered in the rubble of the destroyed Azaz mosques, north of the
restive city of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 2.
Smoke rises from Al-Safsaf in Homs on Friday, August 3.
A boy plays with an AK-47 rifle owned by his father in
Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3.
Syrians climb on an abandoned Syrian army tank north of
Aleppo on Thursday, August 2.
A man looks at a destroyed Syrian army compound in Azaz,
29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3.
A Syrian refugee walks at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in
the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, on Friday, August
3.
People and a member of the Free Syrian Army commute on
Wednesday, August 1, past a building on the outskirts of Idlib that was hit by
rocket fire Tuesday night by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Unrest
spread across other volatile regions of the country as al-Assad's forces shelled
targets and launched raids in and around Damascus, Homs, Daraa and Deir
Ezzor.
A woman and child on Wednesday walk through rubble of a
building destroyed by shelling from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad in Aleppo.
Demonstrators hold an opposition flag during a protest
Wednesday against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
Syrian girls on Wednesday walk past a Syrian army tank
captured two days earlier by rebel fighters at a checkpoint in the village of
Anadan. The strategic checkpoint secures the rebel fighters free movement
between the northern city of Aleppo and Turkey.
Rebel Free Syrian Army fighters capture a policeman who
they allege is a "Shabiha" or pro-regime militiaman, on Tuesday, July 31, as the
rebels overrun a police station in Aleppo.
Rebel fighters load an anti-aircraft machine gun on an
armored vehicle in Atareb, east of Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, on
Tuesday, July 31.
Syrian boys run near a building hit by bullets and fire
in Atareb.
A member of the Free Syrian Army fires at forces loyal to
President Bashar Al-Assad in a district of Aleppo called Salah Edinne on
Tuesday.
A member of the Free Syrian Army carries an injured
civilian to safety in Aleppo's district of Salah Edinne on Tuesday.
Members of the Free Syrian Army learn that a tank
belonging to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad is heading to the
area.
A Syrian boy carries bags of bread as people wait outside
a bakery near Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo.
A photo released by Syrian Arab News Agency depicts
damaged buildings in Homs on Monday, July 30.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position Sunday, July
29, in Aleppo as people flee shelling. Intense clashes have been under way for
more than a week between the regime and rebels in Aleppo, Syria's commercial and
cultural center.
Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes
yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, July 28. About 200,000 people
have fled fighting in Aleppo and surrounding areas in the past two days, a U.N.
official says.
Fighting leaves vehicles damaged Saturday in the
southwestern city of Daraa.
Syrians carry the body of a man allegedly killed in the
bombardment of Sukari, southwest of Aleppo, by Syrian regime forces on July
27.
Destruction appears widespread in Homs on Friday, July
27, in a handout photo from the Syrian opposition Shaam News Network.
A Syrian opposition fighter takes aim during clashes with
forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday, July 25.
Family and friends mourn over the body of Usame Mircan,
who they say was killed by a Syrian government sniper in Aleppo on
Wednesday.
Usame Mircan's mother grieves after he was killed during
fighting in Aleppo.
The bodies of men killed during clashes between Syrian
rebel fighters and goverment forces lie on the Aleppo street on Thursday, July
26.
Fighters from the Syrian opposition rest at a former
primary school in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Residents take cover as fighters from the Syrian
opposition clash with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on
Wednesday.
Syrian rebels guard a checkpoint in Aleppo on
Wednesday.
A damaged portrait of President Bashar al-Assad sits
among piles of debris at a checkpoint manned by Syrian rebels in Aleppo on
Wednesday.
Syrian rebels drive through Selehattin near Aleppo during
clashes with government forces on Monday, July 23.
A Syrian rebel runs through the streets of Selehattin
during an attack on a municipal building. The rebel Free Syrian Army says it is
attempting to "liberate" several districts of Aleppo.
Syrian rebels work to find snipers during clashes Monday
between the opposition and government forces in Selehattin.
Syrian rebels make their way down a street Monday in
Selehattin near Aleppo. If they gain control of Aleppo, it would mark a pivotal
point in the Syrian crisis.
Syrian rebels take cover behind sandbags during fighting
Monday at the entrance to the city of Selehattin.
On Sunday, July 22, a Syrian refugee looks out from a bus
as he arrives at a refugee camp in Turkey opposite the Syrian commercial
crossing point Bab al-Hawa.
Syrian refugees flee from a refugee camp nicknamed
"Container City" on the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, southern
Turkey, on Sunday.
Smoke from artillery shelling rises above Jbatha
Al-khashab.
An armed Syrian rebel wearing the jersey of FC Barcelona
rests with comrades near the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday. The rebel Free
Syrian Army announced the start of the battle to "liberate" Aleppo, Syria's
commercial hub and a traditional bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's
regime.
In this photo released by the Shaam News Network, a truck
burns after shelling in the Erbeen suburb of Damascus on Saturday, July
21.
Refugees fleeing the violence in Syria arrive by bus in
Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday.
Turkish soldiers stand guard at the Cilvegozu border gate
in Reyhanly that connects to Syria's Bab al-Hawa post. An estimated 120,000
people have fled Syria to Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.
Burned-out trucks at the Bab al-Hawa Syrian border post
with Turkey on Friday, July 20. Syrian rebels seized control of the post after a
fierce battle with Syrian troops, an AFP photographer at the scene
reported.
Syrian soldiers celebrate in the al-Midan area in
Damascus on Friday. Syrian regime forces routed rebel fighters from the Damascus
neighbourhood of Midan, Syrian state television reported, saying troops had
"cleaned" the district of "terrorists."
Journalists are shown a dead body on a government tour of
the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.
Members of Syria security forces rest in the al-Midan
area in Damascus on Friday.
Syrian army soldiers hang their national flag in a
partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.
Smoke hangs in the air in a partially destroyed
neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.
Members of Syria security forces pose for photographers
in the al-Midan area in Damascus after driving out the rebel fighters.
Syrian residents take goods from a truck that rebels
captured at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Friday.
A picture released by the official Syrian Arab News
Agency on July 19 shows Syrian General Fahd al-Freij meeting with President
Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after his swearing-in ceremony as defense minister.
A man holds up a picture of President Bashar al-Assad at
a former police station in Atareb after clashes between Syrian soldiers and Free
Syrain Army near Aleppo on Thursday, July 19. Rebels seized control of border
crossings with Iraq on Thursday, dealing a new blow to al-Assad, as China and
Russia dismayed the West by blocking U.N. action against his regime.
People walk along the street in Atareb amidst damage
caused by clashed between Syrian soldiers and the Free Syrian Army.
A Syrian man checks the former police station of Syrian
regime after a clash at Atareb on Thursday.
Smoke ascends from from alleged shelling of the Syrian
village of Jebata al-Khashab as seen from the hill village of Buqaata in the
Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Thursday.
The death toll in Syria on July 12 reached 287, making it
the bloodiest day in Syria since the uprising began. As it has done
consistently, Syrian state television blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the
killings.
A Syrian woman sits with her grandson outside a damaged
building after attacks in the Syrian village of Treimsa on July 13, 2012. More
than 200 people were massacred in the town, according to activists.
A Syrian demonstrator holds an opposition flag during a
protest in Damascus on July 2, 2012. There have been increasing reports of
violence in the Syrian capital.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad waves as he arrives for
a speech to Syria's parliament in Damascus on June 3, 2012. The embattled
president denied that government forces were behind the "outrageous" massacre in
Houla.
People gather at a mass burial on May 26, 2012 for
victims reportedly killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces in
Houla. The attack left at least 108 people dead, including nearly 50 children,
according to the United Nations.
Members of the Free Syrian Army return to Qusayr on May
12, 2012 after an attack on Syrian regime forces in the village of Nizareer,
near the Lebanese border in Homs.
A U.N. observer speaks with Syrian rebels and civilians
in the village of Azzara on May 4, 2012, days before the country's parlianemtary
polls were held against a backdrop of unrest.
Thousands of Syrians wave their national flag and hold
portraits of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan
Nasrallah, right, during a rally to show support for their leader on March 29,
2012 in Damascus.
Syrian rebel fighters man a checkpoint leading into the
town of Taftanaz in the rebel stronghold province of Idlib on March 20,
2012.
A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his steed in the
Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16,
2012, a year after the uprising began. The Free Syrian Army is an armed
opposition group made up largely of military defectors.
Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into
Turkey on March 14, 2012. International mediator Kofi Annan called for an
immediate halt to the killing of civilians in Syria as he arrived in Turkey for
talks on the crisis.
A day after the twin suicide bombings, Syrian mourners
pray over the coffins of the 44 people killed during a mass funeral in
Damascus.
A Syrian man who was wounded in a suicide attack rests at
a hospital in Damascus on December 23, 2011. Suicide bombers hit two security
service bases in the Syrian capital, killing dozens of people.
Arab foreign ministers attend an emergency meeting at the
Arab League headquarters in Cairo on October 16, 2011, to discuss the crisis in
Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the
media in Washington on August 18, 2011. Clinton said U.S. sanctions on Syrian
oil "strike at the heart of the Syrian regime."
Syrian youths wave national flags while army troops drive
out of Daraa on May 5, 2011. During a week-long military lockdown of the town,
dozens of people were reportedly killed in what activists described as
"indiscriminate" shelling on the city.
Syrians in Damascus protest in the street on March 25,
2011, after clashes with government forces in Daraa left several dead.
Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rally on
April 1 in Istanbul, Turkey, as delegates from dozens of countries gather to
push for ways to end the deadly violence in Syria. The United Nations estimates
more than 10,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the crisis in
March 2011. The conflict is now being labeled a civil war by the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
Showdown in Syria
HIDE CAPTION
Showdown in
Syria
The Local Coordination Committees
of Syria, an opposition group, said the toll includes a "massacre" of 35 people
in the village of Al Fan in Hama province.
The state news agency SANA said
there had been a clash between government forces and an "armed terrorist group"
in the area.
Separately, a bombing near a
government security building in the capital Damascus left at least four people
wounded, state television said, calling the incident "terrorism."
The opposition Free Syrian Army's
Grandsons of the Prophet Brigade said it carried out the attack.
CNN cannot independently verify
reports of violence, because the Syrian government limits access by
international journalists.
Opposition fighters claimed
Saturday to be making advances, saying they captured a military air force base
after an 11-day siege.
They seized the base to prevent
airstrikes and shelling of civilians, Ridha Al-Alwani said via Skype from the
border city of Albu Kamal in Deir Ezzour province.
A Free Syrian Army spokesman
said the installation was the Air Defense battalion headquarters in Albu
Kamal.
The military, however, still
controls two other bases that it used to launch airstrikes following the rebel
attack, Al-Alwani said.
At least 162 people died across
Syria on Saturday, including 55 in and around Damascus, opposition activists
said.
Several political activists
reported that regime forces raided a hospital in the Damascus suburb of Kafar
Batna, killed medical staff, and wounded patients. They said regime forces later
burned the hospital.
The Local Coordination
Committees of Syria said the regime forces had targeted the hospital in the past
because it treated protesters
No comments:
Post a Comment