Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad recaptured a town in western Syria after days of heavy fighting, Al Jazeera television reported.
Government troops yesterday took control of Deir Balbah near Homs, the news channel reported. The forces executed some 220 residents, who were among at least 392 people killed across the country, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition coalition. The figures are unconfirmed.
The fighting came the same day that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Assad had told a top United Nations envoy that he won’t quit before his term ends in 2014.