BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebels and government troops clashed in central Damascus for a third day in the fiercest fighting inside the capital since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad erupted last year, but neither side appeared able to deliver a decisive blow.

Government troops also used helicopter gunships and artillery to target rebel fighters in the northern and southern outskirts and rebels said they had killed 70 security forces and pro-Assad militiamen known as shabbiha over the past 24 hours.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian army armoured vehicles have clashed with rebels in Damascus in what residents said was the heaviest fighting in the capital since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began 17 months ago.

The spread of hostilities into the Syrian capital comes as United Nations envoy Kofi Annan is visiting Moscow to promote a peace plan for Syria. On Tuesday, he will meet president Vladimir Putin, who has resisted Western calls to increase pressure on Assad.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces encircled rebel fighters in Damascus on Monday, waging a second day of fighting that residents described as the worst to hit the capital since the 17-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began.

Armored vehicles rolled into the southern district of Midan and were reinforced by security forces surrounding the area in the late afternoon. Residents said they saw snipers deployed on rooftops.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Clashes between rebels and government forces erupted for a second day in the Syrian capital on Monday, activists said, in some of the fiercest fighting to hit Damascus since the 17-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began.

Armoured vehicles rolled into the southern district of Midan and snipers deployed on rooftops, residents said. Heavy machine gun fire could be heard in video uploaded by activists in the area.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in Damascus into the early hours of Monday in what residents described as the fiercest fighting yet inside the capital.

Activists said the fighting spread from the south of the city to a second area as night fell. At least five people were killed and dozens wounded, locals said.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in poor districts of Damascus on Sunday in some of the most intensive daytime fighting yet inside the city limits of the capital.

Activist Samir al-Shami, who spoke to Reuters by Skype from Damascus, said the fighting was underway in the al-Tadamon district in the capital’s south, after a night of sustained battles in the nearby Hajar al-Aswad district.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in poor districts of Damascus on Sunday in some of the most intensive daytime fighting yet inside the city limits of the capital.

Activist Samir al-Shami, who spoke to Reuters by Skype from Damascus, said the fighting was underway in the al-Tadamon district in the capital’s south, after a night of sustained battles in the nearby Hajar al-Aswad district.

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United States has branded Syria’s leaders murderers after an attack on a village by President Bashar al-Assad’s troops left dozens dead, but there was no break in the deadlock among world powers over how to bring about an end to the bloodshed.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned what his monitors on the ground had seen as an “indiscriminate” bombardment that included rocket-firing helicopters of the town of Tremseh in rebellious Hama province, and he questioned Assad’s commitment to a U.N.-sponsored peace plan for Syria.

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – More than 200 Syrians, mostly civilians, were massacred in a village in the rebellious Hama region when it was bombarded by helicopter gunships and tanks and then stormed by militiamen who carried out execution-style killings, opposition activists said.

If confirmed, it would be the worst single incident of violence in 16 months of conflict in which rebels are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and diplomacy to halt the bloodshed has been stymied by jostling between world powers.

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – More than 200 Syrians, mostly civilians, were massacred in a village in the rebellious Hama region when it was bombarded by helicopter gunships and tanks and then stormed by militiamen, opposition activists said.

If confirmed, it would be the worst single incident of violence in 16 months of conflict in which rebels are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and diplomacy to halt the bloodshed has been stymied by jostling between world powers.