Updated on
Summary Fighting for control of a key army base in Aleppo raged as Russia urged Syria unity.
Fighting for control of a key army base in Aleppo raged on Saturday, as Russia tried to revive a divisive accord on ending the bloodshed that calls for a government of unity in Syria.As Lakhdar Brahimi prepared for his first visit to Damascus as international envoy on Syria, EU foreign ministers meeting in Cyprus upped the pressure, saying they agreed on the need to beef up sanctions against the Syrian regime.On the ground, the army claimed a victory against rebels in the northern city of Aleppo, ousting them from the Hanano army base backed by armour and helicopters in a 20-hour battle, military sources and witnesses said.There are a lot of victims on both sides, one witness told AFP.A military official said soldiers destroyed six armoured vehicles the rebels were using to transport arms seized from the barracks that serves mainly as a weapons depot and recruitment centre.Rebels on Friday claimed to have captured parts of the barracks.The rebels had thrown themselves whole-heartedly into this offensive because they desperately need weapons, an army official said.Badly outgunned members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) took part in the offensive, a rebel commander calling himself as Abu Omar said on Friday.The goal was to liberate Hanano, cut off supply lines and stop shelling that has caused many civilian casualties in Aleppo.Later, it was reported that a main water line had been destroyed, with Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights, saying this was critical because it provides drinking water to the whole city.We cannot say how it was ruptured, but there were air strikes and clashes between the army and rebels in the area, he added.Aleppo provincial governor Mohammed Wahid Akkad blamed a terrorist attack and said work was under way to restore supplies, the official SANA news agency reported.The Local Coordination Committees, a network of opposition activists on the ground, blamed the damage on regime air attacks.The rebels also assaulted Aleppos Midan district by breaking into the Saint Vartan religious complex between the central district and a rebel stronghold, a military source and local residents said.They tried to take Midan but were met with fierce resistance by the security forces of the air force, who are in charge of the area, the source added.The Observatory also reported shelling in Damascus, in the southern province of Daraa, and clashes around a military airport in Albu Kamal in the east.The fighting also spilled over into Iraq, when mortar rounds hit the border town of Al-Qaim, killing a four-year old girl and wounding four people, an Iraqi army captain said.At least 80 people -- 25 civilians, 19 rebels and 36 soldiers -- were killed nationwide on Saturday, the Observatory reported, following a day in which 136 people died.
