Updated on
Summary Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Western and Arab governments to review their policy on Syria.
Fighting raged in Syria on Thursday, as troops and pro-regime neighbourhood militias clashed with rebels in the central region of Homs and as combat rattled Damascus and the area around the besieged city of Aleppo.With at least 78 people reportedly killed on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Western and Arab governments to review their policy on Syria, saying the key objective should be to end the deadly violence.In Homs province, at least nine soldiers and four members of the popular committees of civilians armed by the government were killed and dozens more civilian fighters wounded, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.These committees are made up of people who have taken up arms to defend their villages or neighbourhoods against the rebels.The fighting in Homs was concentrated in the Crac des Chevaliers region, home to a historic Crusader castle, and Wadi al-Nassara, a valley where a number of Christian villages are located.The Britain-based Observatory which gave Thursdays toll, also reported fierce battles and army shelling in Qadam in southern Damascus where anti-regime sentiment is strong, as well as shelling in nearby Assali.Clashes also broke out elsewhere in the city, including in the Sayyida Zeinab area of the southeastern outskirts, home to an important Shiite Muslim shrine, the group said.In the central province of Hama, Kafr Zeita, another main arena of the nearly 18-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, came under fierce shelling by regime forces for a second consecutive day, according to activists.Elsewhere, a military source said the army has retaken the strategic Barkum bridge south of Aleppo on the highway to Damascus, three weeks after rebels seized it.And in the west of Aleppo city itself, regime forces have advanced towards the Rashid mosque in the Izaa district amid fierce fighting, a military source said.
