The Washington Times

New fighting in Syria despite U.N.-backed truce

Another video showed destruction inside the Sheikh Moussa Mosque in Harasta. Windows and doors were blown out, glass and debris scattered across the mosque’s floor. The narrator broke down as he was heard saying: “Where are the Muslims? Our mosques are being bombed, and no one cares.”

Also in Harasta, a video showed widespread destruction, including rows of buildings with shattered windows, gaping holes and shell-pocked facades.

The videos appeared consistent with Associated Press reporting in the area.

In Douma, another Damascus suburb, rebels wrested three positions from regime forces, including an unfinished high-rise building that had been used by regime snipers, according to the Observatory and Mohammed Saeed, a local activist.

Fighting was also reported near Maaret al-Numan, a town along the Aleppo-Damascus highway that rebels seized earlier this month. Opposition fighters have also besieged a nearby military base and repeatedly attacked government supply convoys heading there. The Observatory said the Syrian air force fired missiles and dropped barrel bombs — makeshift weapons made of explosives stuffed into barrels — on villages near the base.

The Syrian government has accused the rebels of violating the cease-fire from the start. The state-run news agency, SANA, said opposition fighters carried out attacks in a number of areas, including in Aleppo and the eastern town of Deir el-Zour.

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this article.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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