- Title: TURKEY/SYRIA: Haram gunfire echoes over Turkish border
- Date: 28th October 2012
- Summary: HARAM, SYRIA (AS SEEN FROM TURKEY) (OCTOBER 28, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUSTAINED GUNFIRE NEAR TURKISH BORDER SMOKE SEEN RISING FROM BUILDING, EXPLOSION HEARD VARIOUS OF SMOKE RISING FROM MOUNTAINOUS AREA VARIOUS OF HARAM SEEN ACROSS BORDER, INTERMITTENT GUNFIRE HEARD
- Embargoed: 12th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey, Syrian Arab Republic
- City:
- Country: Turkey Syrian Arab Republic
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5AI7LQX8WWDH2GAF3M6P78EFN
- Story Text: Fighting appeared to persist in the Syrian town of Haram on Sunday (October 28), where gunfire and explosions could be heard, and smoke seen from across the Turkish border, despite a U.N.-brokered ceasefire that began on Friday (October 26).
Seen from the Turkish side, it was impossible to verify whether the fire was coming from rebel or Syrian government forces, or both.
Rebel fighters have been engaged in almost two weeks of conflict with government troops and their supporters over Haram, which lies in the middle of a border zone where rebel forces appear to be trying to impose control.
The border conflict appeared to be continuing as Syrian fighter jets bombarded suburbs of eastern Damascus, continuing the air raids launched on Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods in the capital, opposition activists said.
There were large explosions and huge plumes of smoke as Russian-made warplanes hit the adjacent suburbs of Irbin, Harasta and Zamalka, they said.
A statement by the Harasta Media Office, an activists' organisation, said electricity, water and communications had been cut and dozens of wounded at the Harasta National Hospital had been moved as the bombardment closed in.
Activists also reported fighting in the suburb of Douma to the northeast, where Free Syrian Army fighters have been attacking roadblocks.
The Syrian government has restricted access to independent media, making reports from conflict zones in the country hard or impossible to fully verify.
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi called for a ceasefire that began on paper on Friday, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, hoping to build momentum to end a conflict in which an estimated 32,000 people have been killed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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