Damascus under full control of Syria army: Military commander

A Syrian brigadier general says the army has taken control of all the neighborhoods in the capital, Damascus.

“We have cleansed all the districts of Damascus, from al-Midan to Mazzeh, from al-Hajar al-Aswad to Qadam… to Tadamun,” said the general, whose name was not mentioned in the report.

“There is no more presence of armed groups apart for some individuals who are moving from one place to another, just to prove that they exist,” the general stated.

Meanwhile, terrorists kidnapped a Syrian TV cameraman in Damascus.

Earlier on Saturday, the security forces discovered a mass grave of the bodies of civilians and Syrian army members near the capital.

The Syrian troops have killed a large number of terrorists in clashes between government troops and insurgents across the country over the past few days.

In the western province of Hama, the Syrian army carried out an operation on Saturday, killing dozens of insurgents in the town of al-Rastan, about 184 kilometers (114 miles) north of Damascus.

Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil in Syria that began in March 2011.

On August 3, the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution on Syria, proposed by Saudi Arabia, which criticized the Security Council and the Syrian government.

However, Russia and China condemned the resolution and said it undermined peace efforts.