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Syria: reports of heavy firefight in western Damascus Syria: reports of heavy firefight in western Damascus
(about 1 hour later)
A heavy firefight broke out on Monday between Free Syrian Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in a main district of the capital Damascus, witnesses said. A heavy firefight has broken out between Free Syrian Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in a main district of the capital Damascus, according to witnesses.
The sound of heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades echoed from the western neighbourhood of al-Mezze, one of the most heavily guarded areas of the capital and home to several security installations, according to residents. The sound of heavy machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades echoed through the night from the western neighbourhood of al-Mezze, one of the most heavily guarded areas of the capital and home to several security installations, residents told Reuters by telephone in the early hours of Monday morning.
"There is fighting near Hamada supermarket and the sound of explosions there and elsewhere in the neighbourhood. Security police have blocked several side streets and the street lighting has been cut off," said a woman who lives in the area.
Extra troops have been patrolling in Mezze, located on the Damascus-Beirut road, after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in the neighbourhood in February to denounce Assad following the killing of several protesters.
Security in the district is already heavy. Along with embassies and secret police complexes, several security officials have homes in the district, including Assef Shawkat, President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and one of the central figures in the security apparatus underpinning the family-based power structure.
On Saturday two car bombs struck intelligence and security buildings in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing at least 27 people and wounding about 140, according to state media; while on Sunday the British-based opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three people had been killed and 25 wounded by the explosion close to a state security office in Aleppo, Syria's second city.