Heavy explosions shook the Syrian capital Damascus today and helicopters circled overhead as rebels appeared to be renewing their offensive in the city, witnesses and activists said.
Meanwhile, Syrian forces clashed with rebels around Aleppo’s television and radio station today, activists said, and a local rebel commander said his fighters were preparing for a “strong offensive” by government forces on the country’s largest city.
Syria’s civil war has intensified in the last few weeks, with fighting engulfing Damascus and Aleppo for the first time in the 17-month-old uprising against president Bashar al-Assad.