Syrian army to clear Aleppo of terrorists

Syrian security forces are preparing to launch a massive operation to clear the northern city of Aleppo of insurgents, Press TV reports.

Three reinforcement teams are being sent to Aleppo in order to eliminate the foreign-backed armed men and restore security to the city, our correspondent said on Friday.

He added that Syrian security forces are still chasing insurgents in the outskirts of the capital, Damascus while there are clashes between insurgents and the Syrian army in these areas.

In another development on Thursday, Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk came under mortar fire from the insurgents in Damascus.

The attack occurred on the same day as UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan announced that he decided to quit his mission due to lack of support and increasing militarization of the unrest.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that Annan did not plan to renew his mandate after its expiry on August 31.

Syrian Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the resignation, stressing the country’s commitment to the six-point peace plan negotiated by Annan.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov warned on Friday that Annan’s resignation paves the way for a military intervention in Syria.

“Annan is an honest international mediator, but someone wants to push him out of the game in order to open the gates for military actions. This is obvious,” Gatilov said.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly is set to vote on a draft resolution, backed by Arab countries, about Syria.

Russia said it would not support the resolution because it is unbalanced and encourages insurgents to keep fighting.