BEIRUT - Syrian troops and tanks battled rebels on Friday, opposition activists said, only four days before a troop pullback agreed by President Bashar Assad as part of international envoy Kofi Annan's plan to end a year of bloodshed.
The renewed violence erupted a day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the conflict was worsening and attacks on civilian areas persisted, despite assurances from Damascus that its troops had begun withdrawing under the plan.
console.log("BODY1. CatId is:"+catID);if(catID == 69 || catID == 2){console.log("BODY. YES for connatix script");cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });}
console.log("BODY2. CatId is:"+catID);if(catID==120){console.log("BODY. YES for anyclip script");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){console.log("BODY. YES for vidazoo script");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }UN-Arab League mediator Annan said "more far-reaching action is urgently required" to halt all forms of violence by April 12, following a withdrawal of the military's heavy weapons and troops from cities two days earlier.
But activists reported tank fire in at least three urban centers on Friday - the town of Douma near Damascus, the restive city of Homs and Rastan, north of Homs.
Read the full story here