Violence rages across Syria

Fighting in Syria's second city of Aleppo entered a third day on Sunday, with many residents reported to be fleeing the city to escape the conflict.

Witnesses said Syrian rebels were battling government forces near the main intelligence base in Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said violence was reported around the Salaheddin and Sakhur districts, with the army assaulting Salaheddin at dawn in a bid to reclaim it from rebels.

Until recently, Aleppo had been spared major fighting, with many of its residents being supporters of the regime of President Bashar Assad.

The capital, Damascus, is also seeing continuing violence. The Observatory reported attacks by elite Fourth Division government forces in the neighborhoods of Mazzeh and Barzeh.

Rising toll

This comes as the Observatory told AFP news agency that more than 19,000 people have now been killed in violence in Syria since March last year.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP the toll included 13,296 civilians, 4,861 regime troops and 949 defectors.

He said the toll may well be higher, accusing the government of concealing the true number of soldiers that have died to maintain morale among its troops.

On Saturday, a total of 164 people were reported to have been killed in violence across Syria, including 86 civilians.

Death toll accounts from Syria cannot be independently verified owing to severe restrictions on journalists in the country.

Violence has escalated in Syria in recent days, especially after a bombing on Wednesday that killed four senior regime members. The rebel Free Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Monitoring a non-truce

At a diplomatic level, the United Nations Security Council on Friday approved a resolution extending the mandate of a ceasefire observer mission for another 30 days. But UN chief Ban Ki-moon recommended it should now focus on promoting a political solution to the conflict - which is tantamount to an admission that there is no ceasefire to monitor.

Ban also said he had sent peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous to join chief military adviser General Babacar Gaye in Damascus to lead the mission.

Russia and China vetoed an earlier resolution to impose more sanctions on Assad's government.

Regional and Western powers have voiced concern that the conflict might become a full-blown sectarian war that could spill over Syria's borders.

tj/pfd (Reuters, AFP, AP)