1 September 2012
Last updated at 13:43 GMT
Smoke rises after a Syrian warplane launches missiles in Aleppo
Rebels and regime forces have been battling for control of several air bases in Syria.
The government said it had repelled a huge attack on an air
base near Aleppo while rebels claimed victory in another battle in the
east of the country.
The rebels have increasingly targeted the air force in recent
weeks, accusing it of launching attacks on cities with helicopter
gunships and fighter jets.
Meanwhile, Algerian Lakhdar Brahimi has taken up his post of UN peace envoy.
Mr Brahimi, who has taken over the role from Kofi Annan, has sought to play down expectations for his mission.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been lobbying
international leaders for support, saying he "believes in the power of
diplomacy".
The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says there is no
sign of a change of heart by either party within Syria, or their outside
supporters.
He says conditions will have to change before Mr Brahimi can step in with a political solution that might actually work.
UN 'naive'
State TV has been leading its bulletins with a report from the
Rasm al-Abboud air force college near Aleppo, where it said government
forces had repelled a sustained rebel assault.
The pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other
activists said government troops had been killed and wounded in the
attack.
There are also reports by activists of prolonged fighting at the Abu Zohur air base in Idlib province.
And another air force building in the eastern city of Deir
al-Zour was seized, its commander killed and at least 16 personnel
captured, the Observatory said.
Footage posted on the internet by activists showed captured regime officers and seized weaponry.
It is impossible to independently verify the claims, as reporting by foreign journalists is severely restricted in Syria.
But accounts from a number of people say battles have
continued in Aleppo, in suburbs of Damascus and in other parts of the
country.
Russia said on Saturday that calls by the UN and Western governments for the regime to stop using heavy weapons were naive.
"No matter your view of the Syrian regime, it is completely
unrealistic in the current situation, when there is fighting in the
cities, to say that the only way out is the unilateral capitulation of
one of the opposing sides," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russia and Iran are Syria's key international allies.
Syrian Prime Minister Wail al-Halqi held talks earlier with
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
Both assured him of Iran's continuing support in fighting
what it agrees is a US and Israeli-backed campaign to undermine Syria
because of its resistance to Israel.
The meetings came during a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran.
Iran has been solid in its support for the Assad government.
But days earlier at the summit, Egyptian President Mohammed
Mursi described the Syrian uprising as a "revolution against an
oppressive regime", prompting a walkout by the Syrian delegation.
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