Destruction in the southwest Syrian town of Daraya on Dec. 27, 2012. Nearly 400 people were reported dead in Syria Saturday, including some 150 charred corpses that were found in Deir Baalba in Homs, according to activist media. In Aleppo at least 20 people were killed amid flaring clashes between the regime’s forces and members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The Syrian Media Center reported that surface-to-surface missiles were launched on Mar’ea in the suburb of Aleppo. Sana Revolution reported that a “massacre” took place in Khamsya town near Aleppo. The fighting in Aleppo forced Syria’s national airline to … Continue reading Syrian death toll climbs to nearly 400 as violence flares

Free Syrian Army fighters walk on rubble of damaged buildings in Juret al-Shayah in Homs, Nov. 1, 2012. BEIRUT (Reuters) — Syrian government forces have pushed rebels from a district in Homs after several days of fierce fighting in the strategically important city, opposition activists said on Saturday. The army moved into Deir Baalba, a neighborhood on the northeastern edge of Homs, they said, leaving the rebels controlling just the central neighborhoods around the old city and the district of Khalidiyah, immediately to the north. Homs, in central Syria, was the scene earlier this year of some of the heaviest fighting … Continue reading Activists: Assad’s forces seize Homs district from rebels