Syrian rebels have carried out fresh attacks on government facilities and strongholds in the capital, Damascus. Mortar shells landed in Mezzeh 86, an Alawite district near the presidential palace, and hit the prime minister’s offices and Mezzeh military airfield. Fierce shelling and air strikes by government forces were also reported in several areas, a day after rebel groups carried out a series of bomb attacks. Activists said the escalation might herald a concerted rebel campaign. Earlier, UK Prime Minister David Cameron urged newly re-elected US President Barack Obama to work with him to “do more” to end the conflict. He said the US and its allies should do more to “shape the opposition, outside Syria and inside Syria, and try to help them achieve their goal – which is our goal – of a Syria without [President Bashar al-] Assad”. Mr Cameron made the plea after hearing “truly horrendous” stories of suffering from refugees at the Zaatari camp in northern Jordan. Meanwhile, a senior Turkish foreign ministry official told the Reuters news agency that Ankara would soon make an official request to Nato to deploy a Patriot surface-to-air defence missile system along the border with Syria.
