Syrian troops fight rebels in restive south

This citizen journalism image provided by Lens Young Homsi, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels standing in the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Homs, Syria, Wednesday, March. 6, 2013. The chief of staff of the rebel army pleaded with the international community Wednesday to supply arms and ammunition so the opposition can resist attacks by the regime of Syria's President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Lens Young Homsi)

This citizen journalism image provided by Lens Young Homsi, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels standing in the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Homs, Syria, Wednesday, March. 6, 2013. The chief of staff of the rebel army pleaded with the international community Wednesday to supply arms and ammunition so the opposition can resist attacks by the regime of Syria's President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Lens Young Homsi)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian activists say new clashes have erupted between government troops and rebels near an area where gunmen fighting President Bashar Assad's forces abducted 21 U.N. peacekeepers.

Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the army is battling opposition fighters in the southern province of Daraa, the birthplace of the 2-year-old revolt against Assad.

Thursday's fighting is concentrated on the edge of the Syrian village of Jamlah, where gunmen took hostage 21 U.N. peacekeepers from the Philippines on Wednesday.

The peacekeepers patrol the Israel-Syria cease-fire zone in the Golan Heights. They were abducted allegedly while they were near Jamlah.

In an online video, a man identified as a spokesman for the Martyrs of Yarmouk Brigades said his group will hold the peacekeepers until Assad's forces withdraw from Jamlah.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-07-Syria/id-20e6193edb7f4c08937dfebf3c4567ea

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