Syrian rebel forces deny losing Aleppo districtAugust 9, 2012 - 12:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian rebels said a "barbaric and savage attack" was underway in a rebel-held Aleppo district, but denied claims by government troops to have captured the area, AFP reported. Earlier Syrian forces claimed to have captured the Salaheddin neighbourhood after storming it and "annihilating" most of the insurgents. The offensive came as Amnesty International raised concerns about the plight of civilians in Syria's commercial capital and warned both sides they would be held accountable for attacks on residential areas. Early in the afternoon, state news agency SANA said "our brave armed forces have taken full control of the district of Salaheddin" and "inflicted heavy losses on groups of armed terrorists, killing or wounding a large number of them." Dozens of rebels were captured, including foreigners, and others surrendered, SANA said. It said troops seized a large number of arms. State television said the "armed forces dealt violent blows to the mercenary terrorists" in Salaheddin, "annihilating most of the terrorists." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |