Syrian Forces Storm Damascus Districts, Pound Aleppo

Syrian security forces stormed at least two districts of Damascus in the hunt for rebels, in one area using tanks and army vehicles, according to activists on Wednesday.

It is the third straight day security forces have swept central areas of the capital, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists on the ground, also reported shelling in the Midan district of central Damascus.

In Syria's second city Aleppo, the army pounded the battleground districts of Saif al-Dawla, Sukari and Salaheddin in the south as well as the eastern rebel-held districts of Sakhur and Tariq al-Bab.

The army began its advance on Saif al-Dawla on Monday after last week retaking the neighboring southwest district of Salaheddin, which still however has pockets of rebel fighters.

The northern metropolis is seen as pivotal to the outcome of the conflict, with some referring to it as Syria's Benghazi, the Libyan city that was the cradle of the revolt that toppled Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, one civilian was killed, while 10 civilians, including a child and four women died in shelling in the northwest province of Idlib, the Observatory said.

The violence followed a day in which 151 people were killed across the country -- 63 civilians, 39 rebels and 49 soldiers -- said the watchdog.

According to Observatory figures, over 23,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the anti-regime revolt, now entering its 18th month.

This figure is impossible to verify and the United Nations has stopped maintaining an independent toll.