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March 19th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Fighting has broken out between opposition groups and regime security forces in the Syrian capital according to witness reports. Residents say that rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire could be heard from the western district of al-Mezzeh.
Security forces clashed with gunmen in the early hours of Monday morning in a shoot-out that reportedly lasted two hours.
The embattled neighborhood is heavily guarded and holds several government security installations. It has previously paid host to large anti-Assad protests.
“There is fighting near Hamada supermarket and the sound of explosions there and elsewhere in the neighborhood. Security police have blocked several side streets and the street lighting has been cut off,” a housewife who lives in the area said to Reuters.
There have been no outside confirmations of the violence, currently the only sources are witness reports.
The fighting comes off the back of several bomb blasts in the Syrian capital and the country’s second city Aleppo over the weekend.
A car bomb exploded in a residential district of Aleppo on Sunday, killing two people and wounding a further 30. Meanwhile, in Damascus 27 people were left dead on Saturday after twin explosions targeted security installations in the city.
The Syrian government has branded the explosions as “terrorist attacks”, whereas opposition rebels point the finger at Assad’s regime, accusing them of trying to discredit rebel groups.
Funerals were held in Damascus on Sunday to mourn the deaths of those who perished in the explosions. Police reportedly intervened in the event, beating and arresting people when activists started shouting “the people want to topple the regime”.
In response to the bombings, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a ceasefire and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.
A UN technical mission entered Syria on Friday to assess the humanitarian situation and discuss the establishment of international monitors in the violence-torn country. The mission will cover 15 cities, and the subsequent report on the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people will be submitted to the United Nations.
The international community’s efforts to curtail the spiraling violence in Syria have yet to yield palpable results, with both the regime and opposition leaders refusing to open a dialogue.
The year-long conflict in Syria has claimed more than 8,000 lives according to UN estimations. Assad’s regime blames terrorists and armed groups for the unrest and says that 2,000 security forces have been killed since the conflict began.
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