DAMASCUS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Violent clashes raged on in Syria 's northeastern city of al-Raqqa between the Syrian troops and rebel fighters trying to storm the city in the hope of taking control over it, activists said Saturday.
Clashes erupted Saturday in al-Raqqa when the rebels tried to storm the city from different directions, local reports said, adding that the Syrian troops "are still defending the city and its central prison."
The activists' network Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the fighting in al-Raqqa, saying that "violent clashes have been taking place, since today morning between fighters from many rebel battalions and regime forces around the al-Raqqa city."
The clashes are coupled with sounds of explosions and the hovering of helicopter gunships over the area, the Observatory said, adding that the clashes have left tens of deaths so far from both sides. But the number could not be verified.
Al-Raqqa, some 550 km northeast of the capital Damascus, is a strategic area close to the Turkish border. The rebels have been attempting to consolidate their positions in that area in a bid to gain more grounds before possible negations.
Meanwhile, the army has managed to wrest back control over al- Yaroubieh border crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border in less than 24 hours after fighters from al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other radical groups stormed it on Friday, local media reported.
Clashes were also reported to have renewed in several hotspots around the capital and elsewhere in the unrest-torn country on Saturday.
DAMASCUS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Clashes and violence continues in several Syrian hotspots on Thursday as an international meeting discussing the crisis opening in Rome, the state-run SANA news agency reported. Full story
BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Fighting continues to rage across Syria, with heavy shelling and air strikes reported near the cities of Hama and Damascus.
Internet footage appears to show shells exploding in the village of Jenan, near Hama. Another video, also said to be filmed on Wednesday, showed rising smoke in the east Damascus suburb of Saqba, following air strikes by the Syrian army. Full story
ROME, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to hold a ministerial-level international conference here on Thursday on offering more support to the Syrian opposition.
The move was widely considered as the centerpiece of the U.S. top diplomat's first overseas mission since taking office. Full story
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