Syria unrest: Fierce firefight erupts in Damascus

A firefight has erupted in Damascus, in one of the fiercest clashes in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule began.

Witnesses say machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades were heard from the heavily guarded district of al-Mezze, which hosts several security buildings.

Syrian TV said three "terrorists" and a security force member had been killed.

The UN estimates more than 8,000 people have died in the year-long uprising.

Meanwhile, a team of experts sent by special UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has now arrived in Syria to discuss ceasefire and monitoring plans, AFP news agency reports.

'Explosions'

Al-Mezze has previously been the scene of large anti-government protests.

One resident told Reuters news agency there was "fighting near Hamada supermarket and the sound of explosions there and elsewhere in the neighbourhood".

This is an upmarket residential area but it also contains a substantial security presence. The Free Syria Army is present in suburbs of Damascus but there are no records of any presence in this part of town. Close by is the al-Mezze 86 district, a security stronghold, whose residents are loyal to President Assad. Early last month, residents of 86 district fired at protesters who took to the streets calling for an end to President Assad's rule.
Since then there has been heavy security in the area. However, some protesters managed to cut off roads by burning tyres and staging anti-Assad protests.

He said security police blocked side streets and cut off the street lighting.

Opposition activist Amer al-Sadeq told the BBC's World Today programme he had spoken to a contact in al-Mezze who reported four blasts within five minutes and then heavy gunfire.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called the fighting "the most violent of its kind and closest to security centres in Damascus since the revolution began", adding that 18 government troops had been injured.

The BBC's Lina Sinjab, in Damascus, says the gunfire continued into Monday morning but is now reported to be over.

One al-Mezze resident told AFP: "We were very scared but now the roads are clear and stores are open."

State television said that in addition to the dead, several people on both sides were injured.

In January, the rebel Free Syria Army briefly seized several Damascus suburbs.

The latest incident follows bomb blasts in Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo over the weekend.

The car bomb that exploded in Aleppo on Sunday killed at least two people and injured 30 others.

State TV described the blasts as "terrorist" attacks.

However, activists have accused the authorities of staging incidents to discredit opposition groups.

Reuters news agency on Monday reported residents of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor as saying that dozens of tanks had entered the city to try to dislodge Free Syrian Army rebels.

Pause plea

On Monday, a team of experts arrived in Syria to press Mr Annan's proposals for a ceasefire and monitoring.

Meanwhile, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, has travelled to Moscow to meet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and ask the Russian government to press Syria to allow more humanitarian access.

The ICRC says that, in the worst-hit areas, a daily pause in the fighting of at least two hours was needed for the evacuation of the wounded and to allow in food and medicine.

Mr Kellenberger said in Moscow: "Our assessment, unfortunately, is that the humanitarian situation is most likely to deteriorate."

Russia is a key ally of Syria and, along with China, has thwarted attempts to form a UN resolution condemning the repression.

The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow says Mr Lavrov is likely to say that while Russia is engaging with Syria, it cannot tell the government there what to do.

Our correspondent says there is some frustration in Moscow with the speed at which Damascus is responding to some initiatives, particularly that of Mr Annan.

President Assad is trying to quell an increasingly armed rebellion that sprang from a fierce crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests a year ago.

He insists his troops are fighting "armed gangs" seeking to destabilise Syria.