Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia’s Middle East envoy said, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of president Bashar al-Assad in 20 months of conflict.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said that Syrian President Bashar Assad is increasingly losing control and the opposition may win, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

Syria’s civil war spilled over into neighbouring Lebanon once again yesterday, with gun battles in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime that left four dead.

SYRIAN security forces pursuing anti-government protesters stormed several towns and villages, killing at least six people — including a child — and wounding many others during raids and house-to-house searches, activists said.