Syria: Violence escalates, 22 people die in one day

Violence continued to escalate in Syria as at least 22 people were killed in clashes in the country on June 14.

On the outskirts of Damascus, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near the Shiite Sayyida Zeinab shrine, wounding 14 people. The blast also damaged the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, according to state news agency SANA.

Meanwhile, a car bomb also hit a military checkpoint in Idlib city. According to some sources, the bombing killed and injured a number of soldiers.

A car bomb attack occurred in Sayyida Zeinab, a suburb of the capital Damascus on June 14. (Source: AFP/TTXVN)

Clashes between security forces and opposition groups also occurred in the city of Homs and Hama province, central Syria, killing 14 people, including three gunmen and three soldiers.

The Syrian army also launched an attack on the restive southern cities of Rastan and Daraa, which are controlled by rebels, killing seven people, including two rebels.

In another development on the same day, British Foreign Secretary William Hague called on Russia and Iran to influence the Syrian Government to implement the 6-point peace plan of the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League (AL) Kofi Annan.

Mr Hague is in Kabul to attend an international conference on the future of Afghanistan and has held meetings on the sidelines with his Russian counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Syria. The British Foreign Secretary has stressed the importance of implementing a peace plan in the Middle Eastern country.

Previously, on June 12, UN Deputy Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous affirmed that the 15-month conflict in Syria has developed into a full-scale civil war and the Syrian Government has lost control in many cities.

However, the Syrian Foreign Ministry immediately objected, saying that Mr. Hecve Laxu's comments were "unrealistic descriptions", and affirmed that what is happening in this Middle Eastern country is a war against armed terrorist groups./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT