Syria: Fierce fighting in Damascus

Syria: Fierce fighting in Damascus - live updates:

• Residents say Damascus clashes most intense so far
• Kofi Annan in Russia to try to break diplomatic deadlock
• Red Cross says Syria conflict is civil war
10.05am: Damascus is not the only place where there are clashes between government troops and the rebel Free Syrian Army, according to the Local Coordination Committees activist group.
Here are some of its updates from other cities.
Aleppo: Ezaz: Intense helicopter shelling from Mengh military airport, the School of Infnatry and tanks stationed on the outskirts of the city amid clashes between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's army
Hama: Intense clashed between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's army in Hamidiyeh neighborhood.

Idlib: Kafryahmoul: Omar Yousef Hussein, a young man, was martyred in Salqeen due to clashes between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's army
9.49am: The head of Syria's former chemical weapons programme has defected, it is being reported.

#Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat confirms defection of #Syria's former chemical weapons head, Maj-Gen Adnan Sillu. Joined Free Syrian Army
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) July 16, 2012

On Friday, CNN reported that Syria was believed to be moving "some" chemical weapons, for unknown reasons. The stockpile is believed to be under the control of regime forces.
9.30am: Speaking in Moscow, after discussions with the UN and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (pictured left) has said that the threat of sanctions against Syria in the new UN resolution drafted by western countries contains "elements of blackmail". Annan is there to try to break the diplomatic deadlock but Lavrov signalled no change in Russia's position
He said that Russia does not support Bashar al-Assad but it supports Annan's plan to end the violence. Lavrov said there should be a ceasefire on both sides and Russia rejects any military interference.
8.52am: The Local Co-ordination Committees opposition activist group has reported clashes in a number of Damascus neighbourhoods. Here are some of its updates from today.
Jobar: Fierce clashes are taking place between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's
Kafr Souseh: Violent clashes between regime forces and the Free Syrian Army near Mohalaq Janobi
This video purports to capture the sound of the clashes in Kafr Souseh.
Al-Tadamon: Renewed mortar shelling at the neighbourhood since the early morning hours
Palestine Refugee Camps: Violent Clashes between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's army near Palestine Roundabout
8.42am: Good morning. Welcome to Middle East Live. Intense fighting is reportedly continuing in Damascus.

Syria

• Activists reports fresh fierce clashes between the Free Syrian Army and government troops in Damascus after Sunday saw what residents said were the worst clashes to hit the capital so far. Rebels from the Free Syrian Army seem to be creeping ever closer to the centre of Damascus, the BBC reports. Activists said on Sunday that the Syrian army had closed down the road to the airport and was trying to surround fighters in southern neighbourhoods such as al-Tadamon and Hajar al-Aswad in an attempt to crush unrest inside Damascus.
• The UN and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, will meet the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Russia's foreign minister in Moscow today as he seeks to break the diplomatic deadlock on Syria. Western countries are pushing for a chapter 7 UN security council resolution, which could pave the way for the use of force. Russia has said it will not support such a resolution.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross says Syria is now in a state of civil war. The ICRC is considered to be a guardian of the Geneva conventions, which prescribe the rules of warfare. The declaration signals that the Geneva-based organisation regards all civilians and detainees as protected under international law. Therefore it could help lay the ground for war crimes prosecutions.
• The Syrian government on Sunday denied that it used tanks and helicopters to attack the village of Tremseh in Hama province on Thursday. Activists reported mass killings in the village, but foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said only two civilians and 37 armed individuals were killed in what Damascus said was a defensive operation. He denied the army had used tanks, helicopters and heavy weapons to target the town.

Egypt

• Egypt's top military official stepped up his feud with the Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday, saying the army would prevent Egypt from falling to a "certain group," the New York Times reports, citing the state news agency. The remarks by the official, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, did not mention the Brotherhood by name but were widely seen as a reference to the group and to Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's newly elected president and a former Brotherhood leader. And they came just hours after secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton met with the field marshal in Cairo in an effort to prod Egypt's military to hand its power to civilians.
• Egypt's political upheaval will be the focus of discussions when Clinton visits Israel today, Reuters reports. "At the top of it (her agenda) will be her impressions and assessment of the last two days that she spent in Egypt," a senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "She is bringing a very calming message," Danny Ayalon, the Israeli deputy foreign minister, told Israel Radio. "By their (the US) reckoning as well, Egypt's agenda, and certainly President Morsi's agenda, will be a domestic agenda."

Libya

• Libya's Olympic committee president was taken from his car by gunmen in Tripoli on Sunday and his whereabouts are unknown, colleagues said. Nabil Elalem was in his car with a colleague when two vehicles carrying men in military-style clothing blocked them off, another colleague, Arafat Jwan, said.

Haroon Siddique

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