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Syria's SNC Calls on U.N. to Prevent 'Massacres'

Syria's main opposition group called on Sunday on the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss the fighting in the northern city of Aleppo, saying that the regime is planning "massacres."

"The Syrian National Council calls on the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss the situation in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs," the SNC said, adding that the "regime (of President Bashar Assad) is preparing to storm and commit massacres in Aleppo."

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Turkey Vows to Take Every Measure against PKK in Syria

Turkey said Sunday it would do everything it could to prevent "terrorist" formations near its border with Syria that would threaten its national security.

"We will not allow the formation of a terrorist structuring near our border," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish television channel Kanal 7.

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Iran, Syria on Agenda of Panetta's Mideast Tour

U.S. defense chief Leon Panetta sets off on an international tour Monday that, after Tunis and Cairo, takes him to Israel and Jordan, in a region that feels threatened by Iran's nuclear program and potential spillover from troubled Syria.

In Jerusalem, the secretary of defense will discuss regional issues with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak, among other leaders of the Jewish state.

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Italians Held in Syria Are on Their Way Home

Two Italian technicians who worked as subcontractors in Syria and went missing for a week in unclear circumstances are on their way back to Italy, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

"I am finally sure that they are returning to Italy," Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in a statement, following the release late on Friday of the two men, who had been working in Syria for Italian energy group Ansaldo.

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American Reporter Meets One of the Kidnappers of Lebanese Pilgrims, 3 of the Captives

A reporter for the American publication, The New Yorker, succeeded in meeting one of the abductors of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims, who revealed his willingness to hold negotiations over their release.

The New Yorker quoted the kidnapper, Abu Ibrahim, as saying that the abduction was aimed at sending a message to Shiites to support the Syrian people, not the regime.

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Muallem: Rebels in Aleppo 'Will Definitely be Defeated'

Rebels fighting government forces in Syria's commercial capital Aleppo "will definitely be defeated," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on an unannounced visit to key ally Iran on Sunday.

"We believe that all the anti-Syrian forces have gathered in Aleppo to fight the government... and they will definitely be defeated," he told a joint news conference in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

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66 Dead across Syria as Troops Assail Rebels in Aleppo

Troops backed by helicopters pushed an offensive against rebels in Syria's commercial capital Aleppo into a second straight day on Sunday, sparking fierce fighting and sending civilians fleeing.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) accused the government of preparing to carry out "massacres" in the northern city and pleaded for heavy weapons to enable rebels to meet the onslaught.

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Czech Woman Freed by Syrian Officials

Syrian authorities Saturday released a Czech woman held since the end of last month on suspicion that she had links with the opposition fighting the Damascus regime, the Czech foreign ministry said.

"Czech national Sandra Bitarova arrested and held in Syria was freed today," spokesman Vit Kolar said. "She is safe and sound, according to the embassy in Damascus."

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Army Arrests Lebanese, Syrian Transferring Arms

The army intelligence detained on Saturday a Lebanese citizen and a Syrian national who were transferring arms in Brital, the National News Agency reported.

According to NNA, Lebanese Ahmed D. is from the eastern border town of al-Tufail and the Syrian national from al-Kahloun family.

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Scared Aleppo Residents Flee the Onslaught

Panic-stricken civilians crammed inside minivans, on the back of pick-up trucks and inside cars fled on Saturday from strife-torn Syria's second city Aleppo, the word "shelling" on everyone's lips.

Crowds of tired men, scared women and children have been arriving at Atareb, about 30 kilometers west of Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub that is now a key battleground, with regime forces launching an assault on the city.

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