Syria: Fighting intensifies in Damascus
A Syrian man carries a wounded girl next to Red Crescent ambulances following an explosion that targeted a military bus near Qudssaya, a neighborhood of the Syrian capital, on June 8, 2012. At least seven people were killed in blasts near Damascus and in Idlib city in Syria’s restive northwest, among them four security forces members, a watchdog said.
The suburbs of Syria's capital of Damascus braced for a second day of fighting as rebels battled the forces of President Bashar al-Assad Thursday.
According to Al Jazeera English, the army launched a major offensive to break a stalemate in the city, killing 55 people in 24 hours.
Most of the fighting centered around the city's Jobar district, with residents reporting some of the heaviest bombardments the city has seen in months.
Some opposition groups said that they were attempting to regain control of the capital, CNN reported.
According to The New York Times, however, most of the information coming from Damascus was conflicting, and that rebel claims of territorial gains could be vastly exaggerated.
Last week, an opposition leader proposed a dialogue with Assad's government, hoping for an end to the civil war. However, as renewed fighting broke out in Damascus this week, the Sheik Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib threatened to withdraw the offer, the Daily Star reported.