BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists say President Bashar Assad's regime pounded Aleppo with warplanes and artillery shelling Saturday as ground forces seeking to regain momentum in the country's largest city advanced on three neighborhoods.
An activist group called the Local Coordination Committees says 148 people were killed nationwide, including 77 in Aleppo. Aleppo had been relatively quiet for most of the 18-month-old revolt, but it has emerged as the main battleground in Syria's civil war, with both sides largely locked in a stalemate despite the superior firepower of Assad's regime.
The new fighting came as Russia rejected U.S. calls for increased pressure on Assad to relinquish power. After a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Vladivostok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (SEHR'-gay LAHV'-rahf) told reporters that Moscow is opposed to U.S.-backed penalties against the Assad government, in addition to new ones against Iran over its nuclear program, because they harm Russian commercial interests.
%@AP Links
184-c-08-(Matt Lee, AP correspondent)-"been rebuffed completely"-AP correspondent Matt Lee reports Russia's foreign minister, after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, said he is opposed to U.S.-backed penalties against the Assad government in Syria. (8 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *184 (09/08/12)>> 00:08 "been rebuffed completely"
183-c-13-(Matt Lee, AP correspondent)-"business in Syria"-AP correspondent Matt Lee reports Russia has rejected U.S. calls for increased pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to relinquish power. (8 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *183 (09/08/12)>> 00:13 "business in Syria"
APPHOTO LON163: FSA soldiers help a severely wounded colleague after being shot by a Syrian Army sniper in Izaa district in Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Sept 8, 2012. On Friday, U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham, who have toured the volatile Middle East in recent days, urged Washington to help arm Syria's rebels with weapons and create a safe zone inside the country for a transition government. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo) (8 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO LON163 (09/08/12)>>
APPHOTO LON162: An FSA soldier shoots his weapon towards Syrian Army positions in the Izaa district in Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Sept 8, 2012. On Friday, U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham, who have toured the volatile Middle East in recent days, urged Washington to help arm Syria's rebels with weapons and create a safe zone inside the country for a transition government. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo) (8 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO LON162 (09/08/12)>>
APPHOTO LON164: FSA soldiers help transport a severely wounded colleague after being shot by a Syrian Army sniper in Izaa district in Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Sept 8, 2012. On Friday, U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham, who have toured the volatile Middle East in recent days, urged Washington to help arm Syria's rebels with weapons and create a safe zone inside the country for a transition government. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo) (8 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO LON164 (09/08/12)>>
APPHOTO LON161: FSA soldiers help a severely wounded colleague after being shot by a Syrian Army sniper in Izaa district in Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Sept 8, 2012. On Friday, U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham, who have toured the volatile Middle East in recent days, urged Washington to help arm Syria's rebels with weapons and create a safe zone inside the country for a transition government. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo) (8 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO LON161 (09/08/12)>>
