Syria army engages rebels in Aleppo

August 7, 2012 - 16:21

Syrian security forces have clashed with insurgents in several neighborhoods in the country’s largest city of Aleppo as part of their efforts to clear the city of the armed groups, Press TV reports.

Clashes are underway in the Seif Eldawla, Hanano, Hamdaniyeh, and Al Bab neighborhoods, but a larger part of the city remains calm.

The Syrian government forces entered the al-Sakhour area inside Aleppo and arrested between 200 and 250 insurgents, 70 of whom are believed to be foreigners.

Meanwhile, the Syrian armed gangs attacked a traffic police station in central Aleppo on Tuesday and opened fire on the Syrian police forces, leading to casualties.

The foreign-backed insurgents receive arms and support from several Western and regional states, including Saudi Arabia.

Many people, including security forces, have been killed in the unrest in Syria that began in March 2011.

This is while the United Nations has pulled its observers out of Aleppo due to, what it called, the worsening situation in the city. Almost 20 UN observers returned to the mission’s headquarters in Damascus.

On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed the country’s Prime Minister Riad Farid Hijab and ordered Deputy Premier Omar Ghalawanji to handle the government temporarily.

Damascus says “outlaws, saboteurs, and insurgents” are behind the unrest in the country, while the opposition accuses the security forces of killing protesters.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed insurgents are foreign nationals.