Syrian troops reclaim town from rebel control

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Karachi News.Net
Thursday 14th June, 2012

BEIRUT - Syrian forces have reclaimed a mountainous town from the rebel control after eight days of heavy fighting and bombardment, signaling that both sides were using heavy weapons despite a UN-backed peace plan in vogue.

UN monitors Thursday entered Haffa in northwestern Syria, days after violent clashes forced them away from the town.

Media reports said that the government forces overran the mountain enclave near the Mediterranean coast Wednesday to reclaim Haffa, forcing rebels to stage a dawn retreat Wednesday.

"The government has restored security and calm after clearing it from the armed terrorist groups," a government spokesperson said through the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

The spokesperson said forces have seized a cache of arms, including sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and explosive devices that the rebels had left behind before they retreated.

The BBC quoted a Reuters photographer travelling with the UN convoy describing the town as nearly deserted, with burnt-down buildings and abandoned shops.

Media reports quoting rebel leaders said that had withdrawn from Haffa "to preserve the lives of civilians".

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Haffa had been under heavy shelling for eight consecutive days.

Hundreds of rebels believed to have been in Haffa and nearby villages pulled out overnight, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the observatory.

Kofi Annan, the UN's peace envoy to Syria, earlier this week said there were indications a large number of civilians were trapped in Haffa.

As violence escalated, France said Syria was in a state of civil war.

"When many groups belonging to the same people tear each other apart and kill each other, if you can't call it a civil war, then there are no words to describe it," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

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