Explosion in Damascus
Photo: Reuters
Syrian forces, rebels clash in Damascus
State TV reports explosion, heavy fighting in Syrian capital; 'Fighters were shooting at random to spark panic among citizens,' report says
Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad clashed
with rebels in the heart of the capital Damascus
near the Syrian central bank on Saturday, residents and state television said.
An explosion was followed by fighting which appeared to be spreading, said the resident, who asked not to be named for fear of arrest.
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"The explosion was huge. There has been fighting for the past half an hour along Pakistan Street. I am very close. Can you hear that?" she asked, to the sound of a loud bang.
State television said that "terrorists", a term they use for opposition fighters, had detonated a bomb in Merjeh, an area near the central bank.
It said fighters were "shooting at random to spark panic among citizens and the authorities hunted the terrorist groups".
Central Damascus has previously remained largely unscathed during the 17-month-old uprising against Assad's rule.
Earlier on Saturday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that their countries are creating a formal structure to plan for worst-case scenarios in Syria, including a possible chemical weapons attack on regime opponents.
Clinton and Davutoglu said that their two nations would set up a working group to respond to the crisis in Syria as conditions there deteriorate.
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