Fighting in Syria’s two main cities: Damascus and Aleppo
In Damascus, the elite 4th Division backed by helicopters is reported by Reuters to be heavily bombarding the northeastern suburb of Barzeh with snipers shooting from the rooftops Sunday. Residents are in flight. Troops are also deployed in the western suburb of Mezzeh and positioning tanks to cut Qaboun in the northeast into sectors.
In Aleppo, rebels are reported fighting government forces near an intelligence headquarters in the city center, while security forces pound the towns of Atareb, Kafr Karmeen and Abazmo between Aleppo and the Turkish border.
London-based opposition sources report the Syrian death toll in 17 months of warfare has risen past 19,000, including 13,300 civilians, 4,860 security personnel and 949 army defectors.