Rights group: Over 60 soldiers killed in Damascus

More than 60 soldiers have been killed in clashes with the rebel Free Syrian Army in Damascus in the past 48 hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday. “Between 40 and 50 soldiers of the regular Syrian forces were killed the day before yesterday (Monday) in fighting in Damascus, and at least 20 were killed yesterday,” the Observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. He added that forces of the presidential guard had deployed around the capital, but “they are not involved in the fighting” that erupted in several districts of the city on Sunday. Abdel Rahman said helicopters attacked the Barzeh and Qaboon districts of Damacus on Wednesday, and that “residents of Qaboon are leaving.” Activists estimate over 17,000 people have been killed in Syria since President Bashar al-Assad's regime began cracking down on a pro-democracy uprising 16 months ago.