Syria rocked by ‘most intense’ fighting

The “most intense” fighting broke out in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday, July 15, following an army offensive aimed at driving out rebels belonging to the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army fired “mortar rounds into several suburbs” where the rebels are entrenched. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, told Agence France-Presse, “[It has] never been this intense.” Earlier, the Observatory reported that the violence had killed at least 55 people, while human rights activists said more than 150 were massacred by Syrian troops in the village of Treimsa on Thursday, July 12. Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Jihad Makdissi however denied the allegations, saying, “This is absolutely not true. Only troops and light weapons were used, the most powerful of weapons being RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades).”

Read the full story on Rappler.

The earlier denial by the Syrian regime of the Treimsa ‘massacre’ is available here.