DAMASCUS, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 235 activists were killed Sunday in fighting between the Syrian government troops and rebels in the northern city of Aleppo, according to the website of a pro-government al-Watan newspaper.
These rebels reportedly died in the new round of battle in Aleppo, the main battleground since July.
Al-Watan also said that more than 500 shops in an ancient marketplace that could be dated back to 312 B.C. had been destroyed by the flames caused by heavy gunfire this weekend.
On Saturday, a fire sparked by battles tore through the market, one of the best-preserved bazaars in the Middle East. It was the worst blow yet to the city's historic center and to a UNESCO World Heritage site in Syria.
Aleppo has been gripped by fighting on an unprecedented scale since Thursday and the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that rebel mortar fire damaged two helicopters at the area's al-Nairab military airport.
The army, for its part, shelled several districts of Aleppo and battled rebels in Aleppo's northern district of Jandul, the Observatory said.
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Scores of Syrians killed in ongoing violence, UN officials meets with various Syrian parties to solve crisis
DAMASCUS, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Scores of Syrians are reported to have been killed in an incessant violence on Sunday with reports of blasts and clashes, as the head of the UN envoy's office in Syria, Mokhtar Lamani, stressed that communications with all Syrian sides are ongoing in order to find a quick end to Syria's protracted impasse.
The state-run SANA news agency said 17 people were massacred by "armed terrorist groups" in central Syrian towns on Sunday. It said the massacre took place in the towns of al-Haidarieh and Ghasanieh near the central province of Homs. Full story
Syrian army wrests control over two Aleppo districts, fighting threats world heritage sites
DAMASCUS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Syrian military source said Saturday the Syrian troops have wrested back control over two rebel-held areas in the fighting-stricken Aleppo province in northern Syria, at a time when the spiraling violence is seemingly threatening Aleppo's world heritage sites.
The unnamed source, whose remarks were carried by the state-run SANA news agency, said the Syrian troops are in full control over the al-Amirieh and Tal Zarazir districts in Aleppo.
"Our forces will proceed in eliminating the terrorist mercenaries in all areas of Aleppo," the source was quoted as saying. Full story
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