03 february 2012, 15h36

U.S. claims diplomatic efforts to end Syria crisis approach success

( SANA / AFP)

Syrian activists report that deadly clashes erupted between government troops and rebels in suburbs of the Syrian capital and villages in the country's south Friday, causing fighting that killed at least 23 people, including nine soldiers. President Bashar Assad is trying to crush an 11-month-old uprising with a sweeping crackdown that has so far claimed thousands of lives, but neither the government nor the protesters are backing down. The fighting spread to new areas Friday, with army dissidents reportedly seizing a security post in the rural town of Andan in the northwestern Aleppo province. It would be the first time rebels have struck so close to the powerful merchant city of Aleppo. Diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the crisis have gained momentum. In Washington, a senior State Department official said Friday the U.S. is "cautiously optimistic" of strong support for a new UN Security Council resolution condemning the bloodshed in Syria and calling for a political transition in the country.

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