Violence in Syria leaves dozens dead

January 30, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times

BEIRUT

Syrian tanks and troops moved Sunday to crush resistance in the rebellious suburbs of Damascus, opposition groups reported, bringing the bloody battle that has ravaged the nation for months to the doorsteps of the nation’s capital.

The fierce fighting reported outside Damascus was the latest sign that Syria’s armed insurgency — long concentrated in provincial hotbeds of revolt such as Homs, Hama and Dara — has reached the edge of the city from where the Assad family has ruled Syria in autocratic fashion for more than 40 years.

That reign now appears threatened as never before, raising the prospect of a revamped geopolitical alignment in the heart of the volatile Middle East.

More than 250 people have been killed in clashes nationwide since Thursday, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition coalition.

The group reported at least 64 deaths Sunday alone.

The upsurge in violence near Damascus and elsewhere comes as leaders of the Arab League, a 22- nation regional confederation, left for New York with hopes of convincing the U.N. Security Council to throw its weight behind a league plan calling on President Bashar Assad to relinquish power.

Russia, an ally of Syria that wields veto power on the U.N. Security Council, has said it opposes any international move toward a change in leadership.

The opposition reported Sunday that convoys of government tanks, army personnel carriers and infantry troops stormed the Ghouta region east of Damascus, a sprawling patchwork of working-class towns and farmland where rebels have been active.

The military was seeking to oust armed rebels from restive suburbs.

The opposition described scenes of street fighting and urban warfare, as guerrillas ensconced in alleyways and buildings confronted the advancing troops and their heavy armor.