Besieged Syrians in 'horrific' spot as kidnappings continue in Lebanon

Besieged Syrians in 'horrific' spot as kidnappings continue in Lebanon - CNN.comvar cnnCurrTime=new Date(1345140838000),cnnCurrHour=14,cnnCurrMin=13,cnnCurrDay="Thu",cnnIsIntl=false,clickID=211911,cnn_cvpAdpre="",cnnCVPAdSectionT1="cnn.com_middleeast_main_t1",cnnCVPAdSectionInPage="cnn.com_middleeast_main_inpage",cnnShareUrl="%2F2012%2F08%2F16%2Fworld%2Fmeast%2Fsyria-unrest%2Findex.html",cnnShareTitle="Besieged%20Syrians%20in%20'horrific'%20spot%20as%20kidnappings%20continue%20in%20Lebanon",cnnShareDesc="",cnnFirstPub=new Date('Thursday Aug 16 04:36:32 EDT 2012'),cnnSectionName="world",cnnSubSectionName="wrd : middle east",cnnPageType="Story",cnnBrandingValue="default";cnnPartnerValue="";cnnOmniBranding="",cnnAuthor="the CNN Wire Staff",disqus_category_id=207582,disqus_identifier="/2012/08/16/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html",disqus_title="Besieged Syrians in 'horrific' spot as kidnappings continue in Lebanon",cnn_edtnswtchver="www",cnnIsStoryPage=true,cnn_metadata = {};cnn_metadata = {section: ["world","wrd : middle east"],friendly_name: "Besieged Syrians in 'horrific' spot as kidnappings continue in Lebanon",template_type: "content",template_type_content: "gallery",business: {cnn: {page: {author: "the CNN Wire Staff",broadcast_franchise: "",video_embed_count: "4",publish_date: "2012/08/16",photo_gallery: "Photos: Showdown in Syria"},video: {video_player: ""}}},user: {authenticated: "",segment: {age: "",zip: "",gender: ""}}};if (typeof(cnnOmniPartner) !== "undefined") {if (cnn_metadata.template_type_content === "") {cnn_metadata.template_type_content = "partner";}}var photo_gallery = "Photos: Showdown in Syria";Event.observe(window,'load',function(){window.setTimeout("cnn_strysavemrv()",500);});function cnn_strysavemrv(){saveMrvUrl('Besieged Syrians in \'horrific\' spot as kidnappings continue in Lebanon - CNN.com',cnn_strysaveurl);}if(typeof CNN==='undefined'){var CNN=Class.create();}CNN.expandableMap=[''];function _loginOptions(){};var disqus_url=(typeof disqus_identifier!=='undefined') ? 'http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/16/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html' : 'http://www.cnn.com'+location.pathname;cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['607x95_adlinks','336x280_adlinks']); mboxCreate('cnn_storypage_links'); SET EDITION:  U.S. INTERNATIONAL MÉXICO ARABIC TV:   CNN CNNi CNN en Español HLN Sign up Log in Home TV & Video NewsPulse U.S. World Politics Justice Entertainment Tech Health Living Travel Opinion iReport Money Sports Share this on: Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn Besieged Syrians in 'horrific' spot as kidnappings continue in LebanonBy the CNN Wire Staffupdated 2:08 PM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012if (typeof cnnArticleGallery=="undefined"){var cnnArticleGallery={};if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=[];}}var expGalleryPT00=new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGalleryPT00.setImageCount(127);//cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("Showdown in Syria", 1);.cnn_html_slideshow_metadata > .cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:'>>';font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:#004276;outline:medium none}.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}Free Syrian Army fighters carry the body of a fellow fighter during clashes in Aleppo on Thursday, August 16. Government forces are pounding Syria's largest city in a siege that's become the focal point of that country's civil war.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":true,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":1,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A grief-stricken woman clutches her dead baby while her husband's body is covered up following a regime airstrike on Azaz, a town near Aleppo, on Wednesday, August 15.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians search for people trapped under the rubble after the airstrike Wednesday in Azaz, near Aleppo. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A man removes his belongings from his destroyed car at the airstrike site.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an AK-47 rifle in Aleppo on Wednesday, August 15.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians carry the body of a woman after an airstrike in Azaaz.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian man reacts after an airstrike in Azaaz.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians flee Azaaz following the airstrike.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":8,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":9,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian youth holds a limb trapped under rubble after an airstrike in the town of Azaaz, on the outskirts of Aleppo. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":10,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Black smoke billows into the air after a bomb exploded at a military site car park near a hotel used by United Nations monitors in Damascus. The explosion Wedesday wounded three people, Syrian state television said.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":11,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Firefighters work at the scene of a bomb explosion in central Damascus. The bomb was planted under a diesel tanker.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":12,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A man carries the body of a boy after a Syrian Air Force strike on Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":13,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} A man sits in front of tombstone workshop in Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":14,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Jordanian security guards patrol the entrance of the Zaatari refugee camp, located outside the northern Mafraq, Jordan, which borders Syria. Refugees face the hardships of sweltering heat, dust, lack of electricity and at times sexual harassment in this UN-run desert tent camp.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":15,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Jordanian security officers detain a Syrian man after he tried to escape from the Zaatari refugee camp in Mafraq.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":16,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter learns that his commander has been killed by a tank shell in Aleppo on Tuesday, August 14. Opposition activists say shelling in dissident strongholds has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the country.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":17,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Free Syrian Army fighters look at the body of their commander killed by a tank shell Tuesday in Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":18,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his rifle in Aleppo on Tuesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":19,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebels fire toward a sniper in Aleppo on Monday, August 13, as fighting continues against Syrian government forces.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":20,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A rebel fighter fires at government forces Monday in Aleppo's Salaheddin neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":21,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian rebel climbs a staircase in Aleppo's Salaheddin district as the opposition battles the regime.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":22,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A man gives bags of bread to customers at a bakery run by the opposition Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria's largest city.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":23,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Rebels covered in dust and debris emerge from a building hit by an army tank shell Monday in Aleppo's Salaheddin area.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":24,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A rebel fighter gestures toward others after emerging from a shelled building during fighting Monday with government forces.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":25,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army sniper looks through the sight on his rifle from a house in Aleppo on Monday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":26,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Rebel fighters sit behind a barricade of rocks on an Aleppo street.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":27,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Free Syrian Army fighters walk down a debris-covered street Monday in central Aleppo's Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":28,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG as a Syrian army tank shell hits a building across a street during heavy fighting in central Aleppo on Saturday, August 11.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":29,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter sits on a window sill as he holds an AK-47 rifle in central Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":30,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his rifle during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":31,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG after a Syrian army tank shell hit a building during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":32,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter tries to fix his jammed rifle during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":33,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":34,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Free Syrian Army fighters walk through a damaged building during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":35,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter aims an RPG as he waits for Syrian army tanks in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":36,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter walks on an empty street in the Salaheddine neighborhood.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":37,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Free Syrian Army members check a confiscated cache of weapons found on a truck that was searched at a checkpoint in Dana.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":38,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A rebel fighter fires an anti-aircraft gun during a regime airstrike on Tel Rafat, a village north of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 9. The Syrian government and rebel groups have been battling for control of Aleppo, a key front in the conflict that has morphed into a civil war.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":39,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian air force fighter plane fires during an airstrike Thursday in Tel Rafat, north of Aleppo. Forces loyal to the regime have been shelling Aleppo, Syria's largest city.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":40,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A truck burns after apparently being hit by rockets during an airstrike on Tel Rafat.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":41,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Men carry the body of a boy killed in an airstrike in the village of Tel Rafat.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":42,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A boy's body is uncovered in the rubble of a house demolished during the recent clashes in Tel Rafat.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":43,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A man steps on a carpeted image of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Anadan, northwest of Aleppo, on Wednesday, August 8. The fighting has taken a toll on al-Assad's regime, which has been hit by assassinations and political and military defections.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":44,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Residents sift through rubble Wednesday searching for bodies under a collapsed house destroyed in an airstrike.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":45,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian refugees bathe Wednesday at Al Zaatri U.N. camp in the Mafraq, Jordan, near the border with Syria. The recent shelling has led thousands of residents to flee Syria.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":46,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian refugees cook a meal at Al Zaatari camp in Mafraq, Jordan.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":47,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian rebel prepares his weapon as a group of Free Syrian Army fighters head toward the fighting with Syrian Army soldiers in the Salah ad-Din neighborhood of central Aleppo on Sunday, August 5.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":48,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians evacuate a civilian wounded in shelling in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4. Syria's armed forces pounded Aleppo's rebel-held Salah ad-Din district with air and ground fire as violence also raged in the Shaar and Sukkari districts, according to reporters in the area and a rebel commander.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":49,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A vehicle burns as Syrians walk through debris from clashes between Syrian armed forces and rebels in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":50,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A boy plays on the gun of a destroyed Syrian army tank partially covered in the rubble of the destroyed Azaz mosques, north of the restive city of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 2.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":51,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Smoke rises from Al-Safsaf in Homs on Friday, August 3. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":52,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A boy plays with an AK-47 rifle owned by his father in Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":53,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians climb on an abandoned Syrian army tank north of Aleppo on Thursday, August 2.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":54,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A man looks at a destroyed Syrian army compound in Azaz, 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":55,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} A Syrian refugee walks at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, on Friday, August 3.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":56,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}People and a member of the Free Syrian Army commute on Wednesday, August 1, past a building on the outskirts of Idlib that was hit by rocket fire Tuesday night by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Unrest spread across other volatile regions of the country as al-Assad's forces shelled targets and launched raids in and around Damascus, Homs, Daraa and Deir Ezzor.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":57,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A woman and child on Wednesday walk through rubble of a building destroyed by shelling from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":58,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Demonstrators hold an opposition flag during a protest Wednesday against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":59,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian girls on Wednesday walk past a Syrian army tank captured two days earlier by rebel fighters at a checkpoint in the village of Anadan. The strategic checkpoint secures the rebel fighters free movement between the northern city of Aleppo and Turkey.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":60,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Rebel Free Syrian Army fighters capture a policeman who they allege is a "Shabiha" or pro-regime militiaman, on Tuesday, July 31, as the rebels overrun a police station in Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":61,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Rebel fighters load an anti-aircraft machine gun on an armored vehicle in Atareb, east of Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, on Tuesday, July 31.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":62,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian boys run near a building hit by bullets and fire in Atareb. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":63,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A member of the Free Syrian Army fires at forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad in a district of Aleppo called Salah Edinne on Tuesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":64,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A member of the Free Syrian Army carries an injured civilian to safety in Aleppo's district of Salah Edinne on Tuesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":65,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Members of the Free Syrian Army learn that a tank belonging to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad is heading to the area.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":66,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian boy carries bags of bread as people wait outside a bakery near Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":67,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A photo released by Syrian Arab News Agency depicts damaged buildings in Homs on Monday, July 30.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":68,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position Sunday, July 29, in Aleppo as people flee shelling. Intense clashes have been under way for more than a week between the regime and rebels in Aleppo, Syria's commercial and cultural center. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":69,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, July 28. About 200,000 people have fled fighting in Aleppo and surrounding areas in the past two days, a U.N. official says.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":70,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Fighting leaves vehicles damaged Saturday in the southwestern city of Daraa.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":71,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians carry the body of a man allegedly killed in the bombardment of Sukari, southwest of Aleppo, by Syrian regime forces on July 27.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":72,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Destruction appears widespread in Homs on Friday, July 27, in a handout photo from the Syrian opposition Shaam News Network.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":73,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian opposition fighter takes aim during clashes with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday, July 25. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":74,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Family and friends mourn over the body of Usame Mircan, who they say was killed by a Syrian government sniper in Aleppo on Wednesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":75,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Usame Mircan's mother grieves after he was killed during fighting in Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":76,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}The bodies of men killed during clashes between Syrian rebel fighters and goverment forces lie on the Aleppo street on Thursday, July 26.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":77,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Fighters from the Syrian opposition rest at a former primary school in Aleppo on Wednesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":78,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Residents take cover as fighters from the Syrian opposition clash with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":79,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebels guard a checkpoint in Aleppo on Wednesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":80,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A damaged portrait of President Bashar al-Assad sits among piles of debris at a checkpoint manned by Syrian rebels in Aleppo on Wednesday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":81,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebels drive through Selehattin near Aleppo during clashes with government forces on Monday, July 23.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":82,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian rebel runs through the streets of Selehattin during an attack on a municipal building. The rebel Free Syrian Army says it is attempting to "liberate" several districts of Aleppo.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":83,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebels work to find snipers during clashes Monday between the opposition and government forces in Selehattin.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":84,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebels make their way down a street Monday in Selehattin near Aleppo. If they gain control of Aleppo, it would mark a pivotal point in the Syrian crisis. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":85,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebels take cover behind sandbags during fighting Monday at the entrance to the city of Selehattin.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":86,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}On Sunday, July 22, a Syrian refugee looks out from a bus as he arrives at a refugee camp in Turkey opposite the Syrian commercial crossing point Bab al-Hawa.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":87,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian refugees flee from a refugee camp nicknamed "Container City" on the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, southern Turkey, on Sunday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":88,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A mortar shell falls toward the Syrian village of Jbatha Al-khashab, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Damascus. It's seen from the Israeli side of the border, in the Golan Heights.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":89,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Smoke from artillery shelling rises above Jbatha Al-khashab.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":90,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}An armed Syrian rebel wearing the jersey of FC Barcelona rests with comrades near the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday. The rebel Free Syrian Army announced the start of the battle to "liberate" Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and a traditional bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":91,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army soldier rips a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey on Sunday. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":92,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Dozens of Turkish truck drivers on Saturday, July 21, accused Free Syrian Army rebels of having burned and looted their lorries as they captured Syria's Bab al-Hawa post, near Aleppo, from government troops.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":93,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}In this photo released by the Shaam News Network, a truck burns after shelling in the Erbeen suburb of Damascus on Saturday, July 21.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":94,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Refugees fleeing the violence in Syria arrive by bus in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":95,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Turkish soldiers stand guard at the Cilvegozu border gate in Reyhanly that connects to Syria's Bab al-Hawa post. 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Syrian regime forces routed rebel fighters from the Damascus neighbourhood of Midan, Syrian state television reported, saying troops had "cleaned" the district of "terrorists."cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":98,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Journalists are shown a dead body on a government tour of the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":99,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Members of Syria security forces rest in the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":100,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian army soldiers hang their national flag in a partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":101,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Smoke hangs in the air in a partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":102,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Members of Syria security forces pose for photographers in the al-Midan area in Damascus after driving out the rebel fighters.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":103,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian residents take goods from a truck that rebels captured at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":104,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on July 19 shows Syrian General Fahd al-Freij meeting with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after his swearing-in ceremony as defense minister. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":105,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A man holds up a picture of President Bashar al-Assad at a former police station in Atareb after clashes between Syrian soldiers and Free Syrain Army near Aleppo on Thursday, July 19. Rebels seized control of border crossings with Iraq on Thursday, dealing a new blow to al-Assad, as China and Russia dismayed the West by blocking U.N. action against his regime.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":106,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}People walk along the street in Atareb amidst damage caused by clashed between Syrian soldiers and the Free Syrian Army.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":107,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian man checks the former police station of Syrian regime after a clash at Atareb on Thursday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":108,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Smoke ascends from from alleged shelling of the Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab as seen from the hill village of Buqaata in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Thursday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":109,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}The death toll in Syria on July 12 reached 287, making it the bloodiest day in Syria since the uprising began. As it has done consistently, Syrian state television blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the killings.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":110,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian woman sits with her grandson outside a damaged building after attacks in the Syrian village of Treimsa on July 13, 2012. More than 200 people were massacred in the town, according to activists.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":111,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian demonstrator holds an opposition flag during a protest in Damascus on July 2, 2012. There have been increasing reports of violence in the Syrian capital.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":112,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syria's President Bashar al-Assad waves as he arrives for a speech to Syria's parliament in Damascus on June 3, 2012. The embattled president denied that government forces were behind the "outrageous" massacre in Houla.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":113,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}People gather at a mass burial on May 26, 2012 for victims reportedly killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces in Houla. The attack left at least 108 people dead, including nearly 50 children, according to the United Nations.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":114,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Members of the Free Syrian Army return to Qusayr on May 12, 2012 after an attack on Syrian regime forces in the village of Nizareer, near the Lebanese border in Homs.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":115,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A U.N. observer speaks with Syrian rebels and civilians in the village of Azzara on May 4, 2012, days before the country's parlianemtary polls were held against a backdrop of unrest.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":116,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Thousands of Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, right, during a rally to show support for their leader on March 29, 2012 in Damascus.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":117,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian rebel fighters man a checkpoint leading into the town of Taftanaz in the rebel stronghold province of Idlib on March 20, 2012.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":118,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his steed in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, 2012, a year after the uprising began. The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition group made up largely of military defectors.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":119,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012. International mediator Kofi Annan called for an immediate halt to the killing of civilians in Syria as he arrived in Turkey for talks on the crisis.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":120,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A day after the twin suicide bombings, Syrian mourners pray over the coffins of the 44 people killed during a mass funeral in Damascus.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":121,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}A Syrian man who was wounded in a suicide attack rests at a hospital in Damascus on December 23, 2011. Suicide bombers hit two security service bases in the Syrian capital, killing dozens of people. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":122,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Arab foreign ministers attend an emergency meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on October 16, 2011, to discuss the crisis in Syria.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":123,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the media in Washington on August 18, 2011. Clinton said U.S. sanctions on Syrian oil "strike at the heart of the Syrian regime."cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":124,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrian youths wave national flags while army troops drive out of Daraa on May 5, 2011. During a week-long military lockdown of the town, dozens of people were reportedly killed in what activists described as "indiscriminate" shelling on the city.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":125,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Syrians in Damascus protest in the street on March 25, 2011, after clashes with government forces in Daraa left several dead.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":126,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rally on April 1 in Istanbul, Turkey, as delegates from dozens of countries gather to push for ways to end the deadly violence in Syria. The United Nations estimates more than 10,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the crisis in March 2011. The conflict is now being labeled a civil war by the International Committee of the Red Cross.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":127,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}HIDE CAPTIONShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in Syria<<<123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127>>>Event.observe(window,'load',function(){if(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined'){cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image,"Photos: Showdown in Syria");}});STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: 179 deaths reported Thursday, including 60 unidentified bodies, opposition says U.N. observer mission will end this weekend, France's U.N. ambassador says Another kidnapping in Lebanon; the Meqdad group denies responsibility The violence in Lebanon appeared to have quieted Thursday

(CNN) -- The Syrian government pounded the country's largest city Thursday, using aerial forces to shell neighborhoods and intensifying the siege that has become a focal point of the country's civil war.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Lebanon, another person was kidnapped in an incident believed to be linked to the violence in Syria.

And amid growing concerns about the scores of deaths daily in Syria, the U.N. observer mission in the country is coming to an end. It will expire on the weekend and will not be extended, France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said Thursday.

At least 179 new deaths were reported across Syria on Thursday, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria. The deaths include 69 in Aleppo.

They also include 60 unidentified bodies found in Qatana, a Damascas suburb, the LCC said. The bodies, found in a landfill, "seem to have been executed in a massacre by the regime's army," the group said.

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A day earlier, Sayrian fighter jets launched rockets that hit a hospital in an opposition-controlled part of the metropolis. CNN witnessed the attack.

CNN Inside Syria: Nobody imagined it would turn into this

CNN's Ben Wedeman, reporting from western Syria, said Aleppo residents are left with no good options. If they stay in their homes, "there's a very good chance that they could be killed in an air raid, in this random shelling that goes on around the clock." If they leave, they're destitute and dependent on refugee agencies and relief groups. "So it's really a horrific situation, regardless of where you go."

The Syrian government, on state-run media, said Thursday that its forces had killed "terrorists" in Aleppo.

Syria also said its forces "dismantled an explosive device planted by an armed group near a mosque at the Meridian area in Aleppo."

Human Rights Watch condemned the regime Thursday after a fighter jet bombed a residential neighborhood in Azaz, in northern Aleppo province.

The New York-based rights group said an investigation showed that at least two bombs destroyed an entire block of houses in the city near the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed a new governor of Aleppo province, Mohammed Wahid Aqaad, on Thursday, State TV said.

He also appointed Adnan Abdo al-Sukhni as minister of industry; Nijim hamad Al-Ahmad as minister of justice; and Saa'd al-Salam al Nayef as minister of health, state-run news agency SANA reported.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon estimated that more than 150,000 people have fled the nearly 18 months of fighting in Syria that has left 18,000 dead. Opposition groups report a death toll as high as 22,000.

CNN cannot independently confirm reports of casualties and violence by rebel and government forces. The Syrian government has severely restricted the access of international journalists.

Syria violence fuels kidnapping threats in Lebanon

"The Syrian people have suffered too much, too long. We cannot go on this way," Ban said Wednesday.

"The international community must feel the sense of collective responsibility on this situation. How long do we have to endure this kind of a tragedy? This is not justice and this is not acceptable."

Ban is searching for a successor to replace Kofi Annan, who resigned this month as the U.N. and Arab League joint special envoy for Syria amid what he called a lack of unity among members of the U.N. Security Council.

Russia and China, trade partners with Syria, have vetoed three Western-backed Security Council resolutions that called for al-Assad to end the violence and step down.

Even without a resolution, al-Assad's government has been under enormous international pressure following a brutal crackdown on a popular uprising that devolved into an armed conflict. The United States, the European Union and a number of Arab nations have slapped sanctions on its top officials, its Central Bank and oil companies.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the group that attempts to offer a collective voice of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, suspended Syria's membership Wednesday. Iran, with its strong ties to Damascus, and Algeria were the sole opponents in the 57-nation body, which has a permanent delegation to the United Nations.

The OIC's move sends a message to al-Assad that its members will not accept the regime killing its people, Ekemeleddin Ihsanoglu, the organization's secretary-general, told CNN.

Ihsanoglu called on the Security Council to approve tougher resolutions against the Syrian regime.

The regime said Thursday its forces freed three journalists -- Yara Salah, Abdallah Tabra and Houssam Imad -- being held in El Tal, north of Damascus, according to Syrian State TV. The three, who work for the pro-regime station Al Ikhbariya, were taken by rebels while covering the fighting in a suburb north of Damascus, State TV said.

The claim by the government came as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, said initial reports indicated "a number of people were killed and injured" in El Tal following heavy shelling during the raid by government forces.

The countering claims by Syrian forces and rebels followed news that a U.N. panel found that both sides have committed war crimes in the conflict. The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry, though, singled out the scale of the government's attacks as crimes against humanity.

The fighting has fueled protests and violence in neighboring Lebanon.

Mass protests and kidnappings reported in Lebanon between Syrians loyal to the Sunni-dominated rebels and those aligned with al-Assad, an Alawite Muslim with strong Shiite support, have raised concern that Syria's conflict could undo the political balance that has managed to prevail since the end of Lebanon's 15-year civil war in 1990.

A Syrian citizen, Houssam Khashroum was kidnapped Thursday in front of a hospital in the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle, a Lebanese security official said.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, called on their citizens to leave Lebanon late Wednesday, citing deteriorating security.

The latest unrest in Lebanon was triggered by the kidnapping in Damascus of a Lebanese man, Hassan Salim Meqdad, by Syrian rebels who accused him of being a Hezbollah member. The rebel Free Syrian Army distributed a "confession" by Meqdad in which he said he was one of 1,500 Hezbollah fighters operating in Syria.

In response, Meqdad's brother, Hatem Meqdad, told Lebanon's state news agency that his family kidnapped 26 Syrians living in Lebanon and warned that citizens of the Persian Gulf monarchies and Turkey would be next. Two of the captives were displayed for cameras, appearing beneath a black tribal banner.

Groups of young people protesting Meqdad's abduction burned tires and blocked the road to Beirut's international airport late Wednesday as soldiers in riot gear and armed with tear gas stood by.

On Thursday, Maher Meqdad, a family spokesman, told a televised news conference that his group had stopped all military operations.

He added that the group was not involved in Thursday's kidnapping.

The violence in Syria has been spilling over into Lebanon since May, when a group of Shiite pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria. A series of gun battles, riots and angry protests that month left at least 11 people dead.

For Syria's neighbors, impact is growing with each refugee

CNN's Ben Wedeman in western Syria; Nick Paton Walsh and Arwa Damon in Beirut; and Josh Levs, Amir Ahmed, Joe Sterling, Chelsea J. Carter and Salma Abdelaziz in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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Life and death in Aleppoupdated 11:47 AM EDT, Mon August 13, 2012He wasn't a fighter or a revolutionary, he didn't live by the gun. But 45-year-old Hassan, a shopkeeper, died from an unseen sniper's bullet.What options are left?updated 10:39 AM EDT, Fri August 3, 2012What options are left for U.S. in Syria, what can the U.N. do now and what's on the horizon in Aleppo and Damascus? Check out the Q&A.'I live or die here'updated 10:11 AM EDT, Tue August 7, 2012Twenty-something "Al" has a life interrupted, days and nights existing in two states: mundane, almost zombie-like boredom and run-for-your life terrorCNN inside SyriaCNN's Ben Wedeman gets an on-the-ground look at the Syrian rebels and the violence raging.Syria's slow suicideupdated 5:49 PM EDT, Tue August 7, 2012Acts of revenge are on the rise and the sectarian divides get even more complicated. CNN's Nic Robertson looks at what one person calls a country committing suicide.Why is Aleppo important?updated 5:48 AM EDT, Thu July 26, 2012Video: CNN's Hala Gorani with a look at why the Syrian city of Aleppo is of strategic importance to rebels.Syria prisoner swap turns tenseupdated 8:08 AM EDT, Mon July 30, 2012CNN watches the tension grow as Syrian rebels trade 11 Shiite Muslim prisoners for 11 Sunni Muslim prisoners.Syria rebels: From rocks to RPGsupdated 11:51 AM EDT, Mon July 30, 2012Syria's rebels have transformed themselves into an armed movement capable of attacking the country's two largest cities.Guns, mortars and mansionsupdated 9:04 AM EDT, Fri July 27, 2012Just what weapons do the rebels really have? CNN's Ivan Watson gets a first-hand look at the rebels inside an abandoned mansion.Faces of the Free Syrian Armyupdated 1:31 PM EDT, Fri July 27, 2012Mohamed Rashid walked out of the gate of his house with a giant blood stain on his white T-shirt.'Street of Death'updated 3:37 PM EDT, Tue July 24, 2012CNN's Ivan Watson finds that fighting in one Syrian town has left rubble, stunned survivors and not much else. Its main street is now known as "the street of death."Libya rebels take fight to Syriaupdated 11:18 AM EDT, Sat July 28, 2012Their war for freedom in Libya may be over, but almost a year after they won the battle for the Libyan capital, a group of fighters have a new battlefield: Syria.Photos: Showdown in Syriaupdated 10:16 AM EDT, Thu August 16, 2012The unrest in Syria intensifies over the monthsMapping the violence updated 6:29 PM EDT, Wed July 18, 2012Video: Just how widespread is the violence in Damascus? Take a look at the key spots in the Syrian capital. Syria: From uprising to civil warupdated 8:09 AM EDT, Wed July 25, 2012Check out the key events since the uprising began in early 2011.Sickening stories of Syrian torture updated 11:13 AM EDT, Tue July 3, 2012Human Rights Watch has released a report on Syria's "state policy of torture," including testimony from former prisoners.Photos paint horrific sceneupdated 5:24 PM EDT, Mon May 28, 2012As Syria blocks foreign journalists, Western media are largely relying on amateur photos and videos to tell the story. A man defined by violenceupdated 9:15 PM EDT, Wed July 18, 2012One group calls Bashar al-Assad's time as president of Syria "the wasted decade."Share your story on iReportAre you in Syria? Share your stories, videos and photos with the world on CNN iReport.NewsPulseMost popular stories right nowLouisiana 'ambush' kills 2 deputies, wounds 2Group accuses Obama of bin Laden leaks Check out guy's jerk of a catEcuador grants asylum to WikiLeaks' Assange'Pregnant man' fights for divorceExplore the news with NewsPulse »var cnn_oburlStr = location.pathname + '';cnn_oburlStr = (cnn_oburlStr.indexOf('?') > -1) ? cnn_oburlStr.substr(0, cnn_oburlStr.indexOf('?')) : cnn_oburlStr;var OB_permalink= 'http://www.cnn.com' + cnn_oburlStr;var OB_Template="cnn";var OB_widgetId= 'VR_1';var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js';if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) {OutbrainStart();} else {var OB_Script = true;var str = "var cnn_oburlStr = location.pathname + '';cnn_oburlStr = (cnn_oburlStr.indexOf('?') > -1) ? cnn_oburlStr.substr(0, cnn_oburlStr.indexOf('?')) : cnn_oburlStr;var OB_permalink= 'http://www.cnn.com' + cnn_oburlStr;var OB_Template="cnn";var OB_widgetId= 'SB_1';var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js';if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) {OutbrainStart();} else {var OB_Script = true;var str = "var OB_Template="cnn";var OB_widgetId= 'SB_2';var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js';if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) {OutbrainStart();} else {var OB_Script = true;var str = ".OB_SB_1, .OB_SB_2 { padding:0px; }#outbrain_container_1_stripBox .strip-like, #outbrain_container_2_stripBox .strip-like { font-size:18px; }#ob_strip_container_rel_1_stripBox { }#ob_strip_container_rel_1_stripBox .item-container, #ob_strip_container_rel_2_stripBox .item-container { padding-top:8px;border-top:1px solid #E5E5E5; }cnnad_createAd("705500","http://ads.cnn.com/html.ng/site=cnn&cnn_pagetype=mmst&cnn_position=300x150_house&page.allowcompete=no¶ms.styles=fs","150","300");cnnad_registerSpace(705500,300,150);

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