Quote:

---

Intense fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces erupted Monday in the Damascus neighborhood of al-Mazzeh, the site of embassies, security buildings and the homes of some members of the president's inner circle, opposition activists said.

At least 18 members of the security forces were injured, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The clashes were the fiercest so far in the Syrian capital, and the closest to its security centers since the start of the Syrian uprising last year, the group said.

A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army confirmed the rebels' involvement in the clashes. The Syrian government has not released an official statement.

The fighting in Damascus came as rebels made apparent gains against President Bashar al-Assad's forces elsewhere in the country.

Free Syrian Army fighters destroyed "the Division of the Countryside," a government ministry, in the eastern area of Deir Ezzor, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC), an opposition activist network. The rebels battled government forces who subjected them to "intense shelling," the group said.

CNN cannot independently confirm reports of casualties or attacks in Syria because the government has severely restricted the access of international journalists.

Over the weekend, bombs killed more than two dozen people in Damascus and Aleppo.

The government and opposition activists traded accusations over the attacks.

SANA said 27 people were killed when two "booby-trapped" cars exploded in Damascus on Saturday, and 140 people were wounded. On Monday, "the martyrs of the two terrorist blasts" in Damascus were buried, SANA reported.

A law enforcement member and a woman were killed in the Aleppo blast on Sunday, SANA said. An "armed terrorist group detonated a booby-trapped car while the authorities were dragging it out of a residential area," the report said.

A Syrian rebel leader over the weekend rejected the governments' claims.

"This is the regime's game. This is how they play their dirty tricks. They carry out these types of explosions from time to time to get more international support and compassion," Capt. Ammar al-Wawi of the rebel Free Syrian Army said Sunday. "They are desperately trying to prove to the world that they are fighting against armed gangs, but the reality is they are the ones who are doing all the killings." http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=
hp_t3 who knows?