200 troops, rebels killed in Aleppo
Assad refuses to surrender, says ready for peace talks if rebels surrender arms.
BEIRUT, March 3, 2013 (AFP) - Almost 200 troops and rebels were killed in an eight-day battle for a police academy in the north Syrian province of Aleppo, as insurgents seized control of most of the complex, a watchdog said on Sunday.
"Rebels have seized most of a police academy in Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province... after eight days of fighting that left 200 troops and rebels dead," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based watchdog added that at least 120 of those killed in the battle for one of the regime s last remaining bastions in the west of Aleppo province were army troops.
On Sunday alone, rebels killed more than 34 government troops in the facility.
After rebels battled troops for control of the sprawling eight-hectare complex, located some 11 kilometres (eight miles) west of Aleppo city, they combed the academy buildings on Sunday, said the Observatory.
Amateur video shot by Islamist rebels and distributed by the anti-regime Aleppo Media Centre showed a black flag flying over one of the academy buildings, while a large poster showing President Bashar al-Assad had been torn.
Another video showed rebels aboard a military vehicle captured from army hands and stashes of ammunition seized from the academy.
"This is the police academy, after it has been liberated," said an unidentified cameraman shooting an amateur video in the complex, which could not be immediately authenticated by AFP.
"I lost my brother and my best friend in this battle," a fighter identified only as Bilal told the cameraman.
On the ground in the mainly opposition-held north, rebels on Sunday killed more than 34 government forces in an attack on a sprawling police academy in Aleppo province, a monitoring group said.
They "seized control at dawn of large parts of the police academy" in Khan al-Assal, after eight days of fierce fighting for one of the regime s last bastions in the west of Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The week-long battle for the town s police academy had so far claimed almost 200 lives, including those of around 120 soldiers.
The Britain-based Observatory also reported that Jihadist fighters seized control of a prison in Raqa province on Saturday night, freeing "hundreds" of detainees on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad insisted he will not step down and blasted Britain s support for his armed foes who reportedly killed dozens of soldiers on Sunday in attacks on a police academy in northern Syria.
"We are ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms," Assad told Britain s Sunday Times newspaper, in a rare interview conducted last week at his Al-Muhajireen palace in Damascus.
"We can engage in dialogue with the opposition, but we cannot engage in dialogue with terrorists," he said in the videotaped interview.
His offer of talks was aired as UN chief Ban Ki-moon and his Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said they were prepared to broker peace talks between the Assad regime and the opposition.
A joint statement by the pair said the UN would "be prepared to facilitate a dialogue between a strong and representative delegation from the opposition and a credible and empowered delegation from the Syrian government".
