Syrian opposition calls for no-fly zone

DAMASCUS - A Syrian opposition leader in exile called on Sunday for a no-fly zone in border areas as fighting continued escalating between government forces and rebels across the Mideast country.

Abdelbaset Sieda, president of the Syrian National Council, said the international community should impose a no-fly zone near Syria's borders with Jordan and Turkey in order to counter air attacks by government troops.

The Syrian opposition has made such a plea for months, and Sieda renewed the call after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday in Turkey that no decision to set up a no-fly zone has been made.

"It's one thing to talk about all kinds of potential actions, but you cannot make reasoned decisions without doing intense analysis and operational planning," Clinton said after a meeting with her Turkish counterpart.

The imposition of a no-fly zone by foreign powers is believed to have played a crucial role in helping Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year. But the United States and its European allies have so far made no explicit statements on military involvement in Syria.

Meanwhile, violence between government troops and opposition warriors raged on Sunday across the conflict-torn country. In northern Aleppo province, security forces ambushed an armed group at Aghyour roundabout, killing and wounding a number of its members, state news agency SANA said.

In central Homs province, government forces destroyed two hideouts of armed groups in al-Hamidieh neighborhood, killing tens of "terrorists" and destroying an ammunition dump.

Also in Homs, authorities pursued an armed group in Talbiseh city and arrested 26 of its members, who were attacking citizens and blocking streets.

In the southern province of Daraa, government troops pursued armed groups at al-Nazihin camp, SANA said, adding that the confrontation left a number of armed men killed or injured.

In the northwestern province of Idlib, authorities arrested a number of armed men who have committed acts of killing and robbery, and confiscated 80 explosive devices.

On the opposition side, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said all communications were down in the city of Aleppo, as well as in large parts of its countryside.

The Local Coordination Committees, another activist network, placed the death toll from Sunday's violence at 53. However, none of the activists' accounts could be verified independently.

The escalating violence in Syria has forced the foreign ministers of the Arab League (AL) member states to set out for another meeting to discuss the 17-month unrest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a possible replacement of the UN-AL joint envoy on Syria Kofi Annan, who said on August 2 that he would step down after his current mandate expires on August 31.

However, the special meeting on Syria scheduled on Sunday in Jeddah of Saudi Arabia has been postponed, AL Deputy Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli said, without giving reasons for the delay or a new date.

The former UN chief, appointed as special envoy on Syria five months ago, resigned due to the absence of a single voice on the Syria crisis from the international community.

The United States and some other Western countries have been explicit about their demand for Assad to step down and used both diplomatic and economic maneuvers to exert pressure on the Syrian government. Together with some Arab countries, they have also agreed to provide assistance to the Syrian opposition.

However, Russia and China insist any proposed resolution on Syria should be balanced and stipulate binding articles for both the government and opposition. The two UN Security Council permanent members have also opposed any outside military intervention against Syria.