Clashes reported across Syria

Syrian troops and helicopters are clashing with rebels in the central town of Rastan, activists said today.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Co-ordination Committees also reported government shelling in the central provinces of Homs and Hama, the southern region of Daraa, the northern province of Aleppo, suburbs of the capital Damascus and Deir el-Zour in the east.

The Observatory said government forces used helicopters in their attacks on Rastan, which is held by the rebels.

Violence has intensified recently despite an internationally-brokered ceasefire which took effect on April 12. The truce has been repeatedly violated.

The aerial assault targeted the strategic river crossing town of Rastan that has resisted repeated government offensives for months, they said.

“The regime is now using helicopters more after its ground troops suffered major losses,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “Dozens of vehicles have been destroyed or damaged” since the end of May.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi recently said that rebels are now using sophisticated anti-tank missiles. Videos posted by activists over the past week have shown many destroyed tanks and armoured personnel carriers.

The Observatory reported the deaths of four civilians and an army defector in shelling in the area of Ashara in Deir el-Zour, and said another eight unidentified bodies had been discovered nearby. It reported three dead in the Hama shelling.

In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Iran on Wednesday. Russia and Iran are Syrian president Bashar Assad’s strongest allies.

Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions that threatened possible sanctions against Syria.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia is not playing the role of advocate for certain Middle East regimes.

“We are speaking for the strict observance of the norms and principles of international law in the interest of supporting regional stability and security in the Near and Middle East and North Africa,” it said.

Syrian activists say the violence has claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people.

On Sunday, activists said government shelling killed at least 38 people in the rebellious Homs district in the country’s centre. It was impossible to independently confirm the death toll.