Syria, Turkey exchange artillery fire

The Syrian mortar round struck hit Akcakale -- site of a similar strike on Wednesday -- as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said President Bashar al-Assad should be replaced by Vice President Faruq al-Shara.The mortar round hit the grounds of a public building without causing casualties, Turkeys NTV news channel reported, adding that the building had been evacuated beforehand.On Wednesday five civilians were killed in Akcakale in a mortar strike that provoked counter-fire, in the most serious incident since Syrian anti-aircraft fire brought down a Turkish warplane in June.That incident caused a spike in tensions between the former allies and renewed fears of a broader conflict.Turkeys parliament on Thursday gave the government the green light to use military force against Syria if necessary.Akcakales mayor was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as saying Sundays mortar hit prompted an immediate response by Turkish artillery.Thank God there were no victims. Turkish artillery immediately responded to the shots that came from Syria, Abdulhakim Ayhan said.The UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned cross-border attacks by Syria and called for restraint between the neighbours.Syrias commercial capital Aleppo, meanwhile, was rocked by the heaviest fighting of an almost three-month offensive against rebels, residents said.An AFP correspondent said warplanes were overflying the rebel-held Bab al-Hadid and Shaar neighbourhoods, where witnesses reported fierce fighting.This is the worst fighting weve seen here since the beginning of the Aleppo war, one Bab al-Hadid resident told AFP.From early morning... there has been shelling on the area and clashes between the rebels in Bab al-Hadid and the army at the beginning of Arkoub district, near the Hanano military barracks.It looks like the army is trying to push the rebels as far as it can from the Hanano barracks, the resident said, asking not to be identified.As fighting raged in Aleppo, state television said government forces had pushed rebels out of two of their strongholds in Damascus province, Qudsaya and Hameh.