Beirut: A Syrian activist group says government forces and Army defectors are engaging in fierce clashes in a town near the Turkish border.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Friday's clashes in the town of Azaz in the northern province of Aleppo have left at least three soldiers dead.
The Observatory, which has a network of activists around Syria, said military helicopters were seen flying over the town, eight kilometres (five miles) from the Turkish border.
Mounting international condemnation of President Bashar Assad's regime and high-level diplomacy have failed to ease the year-old Syria conflict, which the UN says has killed more than 8,000 people.
Activists reported dozens killed on Thursday as Syrian troops shelled and raided opposition areas.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, March 23, 2012, 15:02