05:27
Tieng Anh Vui
There has been an upsurge in fighting in the strategic Syrian town of Qusair, both sides in the conflict say.
The army, which began an offensive to recapture Qusair last Sunday, says it has now launched a three-pronged attack on the rebel-held town.
The rebels say they are under heavy bombardment from Lebanese Hezbollah militants, who back Syria's government.
Meanwhile the main opposition group has said it will attend a peace conference only if the Syrian leader steps down.
The international conference, which Russia and the US are attempting to convene, would take place in Geneva next month.
The opposition said it welcomed the conference but demanded that President Bashar al-Assad leave power first.
A spokesman for the National Coalition, Louay Safi, told the BBC: "We would like to find a political solution. But we don't want to be deceived again by this regime, which has deceived us many times.
Previous efforts to find a political solution to the conflict have foundered on preconditions from the two sides.
Hezbollah
The fighting in Qusair, a strategically important town between Homs and the Lebanese border, intensified early on Saturday.
The town was hit by heavy bombardments, including two ground-to-ground missiles and an air strike as well as artillery and rocket fire, activists say.
They say Hezbollah fighters, who are widely reported to have played a major role in the attack on Sunday, were trying to advance again.
Syrian state media said the army had launched a three-pronged offensive in the north, centre and south of the town, and was making big advances, killing many rebel fighters.
However the official media made no mention of the part played by Hezbollah.
The Lebanese group is also known to have lost a number of fighters in Qusair, prompting Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to warn the Shia militia against getting "bogged down in the sands of discord".
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to give his first public comments on the group's involvement in Qusair later on Saturday.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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