Syria uprising

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes up position inside a room as he aims his weapon behind sandbags in the old city of Aleppo November 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY)

TOPSHOTS A Syrian man reacts after an air strike by pro-government forces on the city of Aleppo on November 28, 2013. Syria's war has killed more than 120,000 people and forced millions more to flee their homes. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED AL-KHATIEBMOHAMMED AL-KHATIEB/AFP/Getty Images

In this photo taken Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, Iraqi and Lebanese Shiite fighters from a group called the Hussein Brigade arrest a member of the Sunni-dominated Free Syrian Army in the town of Hatita, in the countryside of Damascus, Syria. (AP Photo/Jaber al-Helo)

A Free Syrian Army fighter throws a homemade bomb towards forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria November 20, 2013. Picture taken November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Syrians, fleeing the violence from the Syrian town of Qara, queue to register to get help from relief agencies at the Lebanese border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley November 18, 2013. Hundreds of Syrians queued in the bleak winter rain of a Lebanese border town on Monday, seeking refuge from a Syrian army attack which could herald a wider offensive north of Damascus. The attack on Qara, which started at first light on Friday, drove an estimated 1,200 families across the frontier to the Lebanese town of Arsal, most of them in the first 24 hours of bombardment. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

Syrian youths Faris (L), 16-years old, and Ahmed, 13-years old, who allegedly fight alongside opposition fighters from the Sadeq Al-Amin Brigade sit in a building in the Salah al-Din neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on November 16, 2013. For three weeks, the army has been pressing a campaign to retake rebel-held areas in Aleppo, particularly east of the country's second city, and jihadist fighters have called for mass mobilisation to counter regime advances. AFP PHOTO / KARAM AL-MASRIKARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images

Carcasses of dead cows lie on the ground due to shortage of cattle feed in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus November 12, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT ANIMALS)

An undated picture taken from an unmanned remote-controlled miniature aircraft with an attached camera, which rebels say belonged to forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, shows an aerial view of the destruction in part of Homs, obtained on November 12, 2013. Free Syrian Army fighters claimed that they brought down the remote-controlled miniature aircraft by frequency interference. REUTERS/Free Syrian Army/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

epa03946456 The body of a Syrian child, who was killed a day earlier in a mortar attack on school bus, lies inside a coffin in front of al-Mujtahed Hospital in Damascus, Syria, 12 November 2013. Syrian state television reported on 11 November that four children and their driver were killed when mortar shells hit a school bus in Bab Sharqi. Mortar rounds also hit a school and a church in the wealthy Qassaa area just outside the city walls, injuring a further 11 children, the broadcaster reported. The two areas are predominantly Christian and lie near a front line between government and rebel forces at Abbaseen Square, on the eastern edge of central Damascus. EPA/STR

A fighter from the Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, prepares homemade rockets to be thrown towards the 80th Brigade base in Aleppo, controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, November 11, 2013. Syrian forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants recaptured an army base in northern Syria from rebels on Sunday, the third day of heavy fighting for the strategic military target which has changed hands three times since Friday. State media and activists said Assad's forces were in full control of the 80th Brigade base, which lies just a few hundred meters (yards) north of Aleppo airport on the eastern edge of the disputed city. Picture taken November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) CONFLICT)

A Syrian displaced child cries as he receives vaccination against polio at one of the Syrian refugee camps in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, following an outbreak of the crippling and highly communicable disease in neighboring Syria. Lebanon, which hosts more than 800,000 Syrian refugees, said it would vaccinate all children under age five. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A father reacts while trying to search for his daughters under the rubble at a site hit by what activists say was an air strike by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus November 4, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Mohammad (R), a 13 year-old fighter from the Free Syrian Army, aims his weapon as he runs from snipers loyal to the Syrian regime in Aleppo's Bustan al-Basha district October 29, 2013. Mohammad joined the Free Syrian Army after his father died during clashes with the Syrian regime. The gun he is using was his father's. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT)

REFILE - ADDITIONAL CAPTION INFORMATION Syrian families leave the besieged town of al-Mouadamiya, which is controlled by opposition fighters, in Damascus countryside October 29, 2013. A rare moment of coordination between the Syrian government and rebels enabled 1,800 civilians to flee a besieged town on the edge of Damascus on Tuesday, but thousands remain trapped with little food, water or medicine. A source in the Ministry for Social Affairs said the evacuation from Mouadamiya had gone ahead with the help of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and some civil groups. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)

Free Syrian Army fighters stand at the Tameko pharmaceutical factory, after the FSA claimed to have taken control of the factory, in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus October 27, 2013. Picture taken October 27, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST HEALTH)

A Fighter from Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra poses at a checkpoint in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr, October 26, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

Two injured men are transported on a fruit barrow in the Syrian city of Aleppo, following shelling as fighting between pro-government forces and rebels continues on October 26, 2013. More than 115,000 people are estimated to have been killed, millions uprooted from their homes and tens of thousands trapped by the relentless fighting. AFP PHOTO/KARAM AL-MASRIKARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images

Syrian refugees hold their hand up in the air as they try to cross a bridge in northeastern Syria without the authorization from the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) based in northern Iraq, on October 23, 2013. The group of more tan 150 Syrians looking for refuge in neighbouring Iraq Kurdistan, attempted to cross, but after waiting an hour on the bridge were turned back to Syria. This crossing has been closed since the end of May, allowing only humanitarian aid and those who are ill through. AFP PHOTO/MAURICIO MORALESMAURICIO MORALES/AFP/Getty Images

Residents look at a a fire at a gasoline and oil shop in Aleppo's Bustan Al-Qasr neighbourhood October 20, 2013. REUTERS/Aref Hretani (SYRIA - Tags: DISASTER)

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on October 20, 2013 shows Syrians on the site of an alleged car bomb that hit the government-held city of Hama in central Syria. \"A violent explosion shook the Sinaa highway in Hama city, followed by intense gunfire\" the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. \"Several people were killed or wounded\" reported state television. AFP PHOTO/SANA --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT \"AFP PHOTO / SANA\" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ----/AFP/Getty Images

A Free Syrian Army fighter throws a homemade mortar in Deir al-Zor October 10, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Residents ride on a motorcycle with their belongings past damaged buildings in Deir al-Zor October 9, 2013. Picture taken October 9, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Free Syrian Army fighters take positions behind a damaged car as they fire their weapons during an offensive against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's Salaheddine neighbourhood, October 9, 2013. Tyres and other objects are set on fire to provide cover from the snipers loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Malek Alshemali (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) MILITARY)

epa03902081 A TV grab from the Syrian television made on 08 October 2013 showing an inspector of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) working at an undisclosed place in Syria. UN disarmament inspectors began dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal on 06 October 2013. The OPCW team embarked on their field work after a series of meetings with Syrian government officials. The government's chemical arsenal is to be completely eliminated by mid-2014, under a US-Russian disarmament plan backed by a UN Security Council resolution. EPA/SYRIAN TELEVISION/HANDOUT BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. EPA IS USING AN IMAGE FROM AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE AND CANNOT PROVIDE CONFIRMATION OF CONTENT, AUTHENTICITY, PLACE, DATE AND SOURCE. HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

In this Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 photo, the grandchildren of Mohammed Kale play in a swing at their family house in Kfar Lata, a ghost village at the top of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. The sprawling, three-generation family of Mohammed Kale refuses to leave their home; a boxy, multi-story concrete apartment that holds the entire family. The men want to stay back and fight. Their elder patriarch, 65-year-old Mohammed Kale, fears they will suffer in moving, penniless, from their home. (AP Photo)

A group of activists from Raqqa eat during an excursion to the Euphrates river in al-Tabaqa city, Raqqa October 4, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Fourat (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY CONFLICT FOOD)

One of the nine newly released Lebanese hostages, who were held by rebels in northern Syria, kisses his wife upon his arrival at Beirut international airport, October 19, 2013. A plane with nine Lebanese hostages freed from northern Syria landed safely in Beirut on Saturday night, witnesses said, nearly a year and a half after the men were captured by Syrian rebels near the Turkish border. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Men perform a folk sword dance as people watch on the first day of Eid al-Adha in the besieged area of Homs October 15, 2013. REUTERS/Yazan Homsy (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

In this Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013 photo, a Syrian opposition fighter watches over the positions held by government forces during skirmishes in Telata village, a frontline located at the top of a mountain in the Idlib, northwest province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013 photo, Ahmed al-Fikri helps his 12-year-old son Abdo al-Fikri, with his homework at their family house in Madaya village after school in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. It has been a year since al-Fikri and his siblings were last in school. The area has seen ongoing battles between opposition forces and troops loyal to President Bashar Assad, and like pretty much everything else in Madaya, the school was forced to shut down because of the violence. (AP Photo)

Abboud (L), 12, and his brother Deeb, 14, walk with their weapons in Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood, September 28, 2013. Abboud and Deeb, both school-going children before the civil war, joined the Free Syrian Army after the deaths of two of their brothers and an uncle in the conflict. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

In this Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 photo, Syrian children attend class at the public school in Madaya village as classes begin in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. Millions of Syrian children most of them in government-controlled areas have returned to school in the past two weeks, despite the conflict that according to UNICEF has left 4,000 Syrian schools or one in five damaged, destroyed or sheltering displaced families. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 photo, a Syrian man with more than half his body burnt from an air strike leaves a field hospital to go back home at a village turned into a battlefield with government forces in Idlib province, northern Syria. (AP Photo)

epa03878395 A Syrian metal worker shows granades ready to be delivered to rebel fighters at a factory in the city of Aleppo, Syria, 21 September 2013 (photo provided on 22 September). The factory employees used to work as metal lathe operators and welders before the start of the war. All mortar shells and grenades they now produce are handmade from scratch. EPA/JM LOPEZ

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ANTONIO PAMPLIEGA Abu Mohammad, 39, holds a home made rocket inside his gun shop in the Fardos district of Syria's northern city of Aleppo on September 21, 2013. While most Syrians get poorer with every day of war, Aleppo's main gun seller Abu Mohammad is doing just fine by selling firearms, including rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and even swords. AFP PHOTO / JM LOPEZJM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images

In this Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters take cover moments after shelling a rocket on government forces in Kafr Nboudah village, Idlib province, northern Syria. In the village of Kafr Nboudah rebels associated with the Free Syrian Army, a group backed by the West, launched mortars and fired rocket propelled grenades to edge out regime forces from villages with Alawite majorities.(AP Photo)

Syrian regime forces are greeted along a street leading into Syria's ancient Christian town of Maalula, scene of fighting between pro-government troops and rebel forces on September 18, 2013. The town lies around 55 kilometres (34 miles) from Damascus and is strategically important for rebels, who are trying to tighten their grip on Damascus. Maalula is one of the most renowned Christians towns in Syria, where many of its inhabitants speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. AFP PHOTO/ANWAR AMROANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images

In this Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013 photo, a Syrian opposition fighter rests inside a cave at a rebel camp in the Idlib province countryside, Syria. The main Syrian opposition coalition urged the international community to take swift action against the regime of President Bashar Assad in response to a U.N. finding that the nerve agent sarin was used in a deadly attack near the capital last month. (AP Photo)

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN Mohammad Zayed (2R), an Aleppo University student, shows Syrian citizens hows to put protective gear as he instructs them with rudimentary means of how to respond to a chemical attack, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on September 15, 2013. For two months, Zayed has been training a group of 26 civilians in the hope they can respond to a chemical attack. AFP PHOTO / JM LOPEZJM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images

Free Syrian Army fighters play pool as they rest in the old city of Aleppo September 9, 2013. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY)

\"CBS This Morning\" co-host Charlie Rose (L) interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria in this September 9, 2013 handout photo. Assad said he doesn’t know if American military intervention in Syria will have any consequences, but he warned Rose during the interview that Americans should “expect everything.” REUTERS/CBS News/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. MANDATORY CREDIT

A soldier wears a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on his chest at Al-Hamidieh market in old Damascus, September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)

Issa, 10 years old, carries a mortar shell in a weapons factory of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, September 7, 2013. Issa works with his father in the factory for ten hours every day except on Fridays. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

GRAPHIC CONTENT A man carries a wounded child after a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on September 5, 2013. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said Syrian war planes bombed rebel held areas in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia. AFP PHOTO / ABU AMAR AL-TAFTANAZABU AMAR AL-TAFTANAZ/AFP/Getty Images

epa03848482 A handout picture made available by Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaking during an interview with French news paper 'Le Figaro' in Damascus, Syria, 02 September 2013. Al-Assad has warned France against taking part in any military action against his regime, warning: 'There will be repercussions, negative of course, for French interests', Assad told the newspaper. EPA/SANA HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

A rebel fighter and a child cross a damaged bridge in Syria's eastern town of Deir Ezzor, on September 2, 2013. US President Barack Obama launched an intense lobbying effort on September 1 to sway skeptical lawmakers weighing whether to support a military strike against Syria. AFP PHOTO / ABO SHUJAABO SHUJA/AFP/Getty Images

A rebel fighter takes aim at regime forces in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on September 1, 2013. Rebels had in the last days of August captured several villages in Aleppo province, much of which is already in the hands of anti-regime fighters, before reaching Khanasser, situated on the highway to Hama in central Syria. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI ABO AL-JODLOUAI ABO AL-JOD/AFP/Getty Images

epa03844626 UN convoy of vehicles, carrying the UN team of inspectors, crosses into Lebanon from Syria, at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, 31 August 2013. The UN team of inspectors had crossed from Syria into Lebanon on 31 August under heavy security, after investigating reports of alleged chemical weapon use by the Assad government. The 20-member UN delegation arrived in Syria on August 18 to investigate three sites, including an attack on the town of Khan al-Assal, in the northern Aleppo province, in March. EPA/STR

A Free Syrian Army fighter watches U.S. President Barack Obama's speech with his family in Ghouta, Damascus August 31, 2013. Obama on Saturday backed away from an imminent military strike against Syria to seek the approval of the U.S. Congress, in a decision that likely delays U.S. action for at least 10 days. REUTERS/ Mohamed Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Syrian refugees arrive at Turkey from Cilvegozu crossing gate at Reyhanli, in Antakya, on August 30, 2013. President Bashar al-Assad vowed today to defend Syria from attack as Washington and London laid out their case for punitive military strikes against Damascus over suspected poisonous gas attacks. Hundreds of people including children were reportedly killed when poisonous gas was unleashed on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21. If confirmed, it would be the deadliest use of chemical weapons since Saddam Hussein gassed Iraqi Kurds in 1988. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILICBULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

An armed-fighter of the Kurdish of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG) holds a position behind sand bags on August 29, 2013 about 30 kms south of the Kurdish town of Derik (aka al-Malikiyah in Arabic), in northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on the border with Turkey and Iraq. In recent weeks dozens of militants were killed as Kurdish and Arab rebels clashed in Syria's northeastern Hasaka province. AFP PHOTO ALICE MARTINSALICE Martins/AFP/Getty Images

Free Syrian Army fighters react during the launching of a rocket towards forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Deir al-Zor August 29, 2013. Picture taken August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

A U.N. chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. A team of U.N. experts left their Damascus hotel for a third day of on-site investigations into apparent chemical weapons attacks on the outskirts of the capital. Activists and doctors in rebel-held areas said the six-car U.N. convoy was scheduled to visit the scene of strikes in the eastern Ghouta suburbs. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A Free Syrian Army fighter dives into a crater filled with water in Deir al-Zor August 27, 2013. The crater was caused by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Picture taken August 27. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT SOCIETY)

Syrian refugees, who fled the violence in Syria, walk at a new refugee camp in the outskirts of the city of Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region August 26, 2013. Iraq's northern Kurdistan region has no plans to send troops into Syria to defend fellow Kurds, a senior Iraqi Kurdish official said, despite safety concerns which have driven thousands to cross the border. Picture taken August 26. To match story SYRIA-CRISIS/IRAQ REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY IMMIGRATION CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Syrians men evacuat a victim following an air strike by regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo on August 26, 2013. Syria's opposition accused pro-regime forces of opening fire at UN weapons inspectors on their way to a suspected chemical weapons site outside Damascus in a bid to hinder their investigation. AFP PHOTO/ABO AL-NUR SADKABO AL-NUR SADK/AFP/Getty Images

U.N. chemical weapons experts visit a hospital where wounded people affected by an apparent gas attack are being treated, in the southwestern Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya, August 26, 2013. U.N. chemical weapons inspectors in Syria met and took samples from victims of an apparent poison gas attack in the rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Monday after the U.N. team themselves survived a sniper attack that hit a vehicle in their convoy. REUTERS/Abo Alnour Alhaji (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT HEALTH TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

In this photo taken on a government organized tour, Syrian army soldiers evacuate a comrade injured during heavy clashes with Syrian rebels in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Syrian state media accused rebels of using chemical arms on Saturday against government troops trying to storm a contested neighborhood of Damascus, claiming a major army offensive in recent days had forced the opposition fighters to resort to such weapons \"as their last card.\" State TV broadcast images of plastic jugs, gas masks, vials of an unspecified medication, explosives and other items that it said were seized from rebel hideouts. It did not, however, show any video of soldiers reportedly affected by toxic gas in the fighting in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus. (AP Photo)

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH Blood covers the walls and furniture of a restaurant after a suicide bombing, at al-Basel Sport city in Aleppo, August 22, 2013. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up in the crowded restaurant during a private party, killing at least seven people according to Syria's national news agency SANA. Picture taken August 22, 2013. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT BUSINESS) TEMPLATE OUT

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH AND INJURY A man holds the body of a dead child among bodies of people activists say were killed by nerve gas in the Ghouta region, in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus August 21, 2013. Syrian activists said at least 213 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday in a nerve gas attack by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on rebel-held districts of the Ghouta region east of Damascus. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) TEMPLATE OUT

A man walks inside the damaged historical old souk of Homs August 19, 2013. Picture taken August 19, 2013. REUTERS/Yazan Homsy (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A Free Syrian Army fighter smiles while seated on a truck pulling an improvised mortar launcher as a fellow fighter stands on a back of another truck mounted with an anti-aircraft gun in al-Ghouta region in the eastern rural suburbs of Damascus, August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT)

People gather as they search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr district, August 16, 2013. REUTERS/Saad Abobrahim (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

Men carry a wounded girl rescued from under rubble after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr district, August 16, 2013. REUTERS/Zaid Rev (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

A handout photo obtained from the UNHCR on August 18, 2013 shows thousands of Syrians streaming across a bridge over the Tigris River and entering the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on August 15. Faced with brutal violence and soaring prices, thousands of Syrian Kurds have poured into Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, seeking respite from privation and fighting between Kurdish fighters and jihadists. AFP PHOTO /HO / UNHCR / GALIYA GUBAEVA RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT \"AFP PHOTO / UNHCR / GALIYA GUBAEVA\" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSGaliya Gubaeva/AFP/Getty Images

ATTENTION EDITORS - REUTERS PICTURE HIGHLIGHT TRANSMITTED BY 1345 GMT ON AUGUST 9, 2013 SYR06 Free Syrian Army fighters hold their weapons as they pose for a picture in Jobar, Damascus. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah REUTERS NEWS PICTURES HAS NOW MADE IT EASIER TO FIND THE BEST PHOTOS FROM THE MOST IMPORTANT STORIES AND TOP STANDALONES EACH DAY. Search for \"TPX\" in the IPTC Supplemental Category field or \"IMAGES OF THE DAY\" in the Caption field and you will find a selection of 80-100 of our daily Top Pictures. REUTERS NEWS PICTURES. TEMPLATE OUT

A Free Syrian Army fighter rests inside a house in Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal district August 6, 2013. Picture taken August 6, 2013. REUTERS/Loubna Mrie (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT)

Soldiers of the Syrian government forces patrol on a tank in a devastated street on July 31, 2013 in the district of al-Khalidiyah in the central Syrian city of Homs. The Syrian government announced the capture of Khalidiyah, a key rebel district in Homs, Syria's third city and a symbol of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. TOPSHOTS/AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EIDJOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

An aerial view shows the destruction in the Khalidiya district of Homs July 26, 2013. Syrian troops drove insurgents from the central district of Homs on Monday, tightening their siege on remaining rebel bastions in the city, which links Damascus to the Mediterranean heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect. Picture taken July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION WILL BE PROVIDED SEPARATELY

Syrian men rush a heavily wounded man to hospital in Saraqeb in northwestern Syria after a barrel bomb dropped by an air force helicopter exploded less than 10 metres away from his car on July 20, 2013. The Syrian air force kept up a fierce campaign against Saraqeb and staged 10 air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, killing several people and injuring many others. AFP PHOTO/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

A man buys eggs before the time for iftar, or breaking fast, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, at the Karaj Al-Hajez crossing, a passageway separating rebel-controlled Bustan al-Qasr and regime-controlled Al-Masharqa neighbourhood, in Aleppo July 18, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION CONFLICT)

An aerial view shows the Zaatari refugee camp on Thursday, July 18, 2013 near the Jordanian city of Mafraq, some 8 kilometers from the Jordanian-Syrian border. Visiting the Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan, Kerry met six representatives of its 115,000-strong population, all of whom appealed to him to create no-fly zones and set up humanitarian safe havens inside Syria. The Obama administration has boosted assistance to the Syrian opposition but has noted grave complications and astronomic costs in enforcing no-fly zones or protecting the opposition on Syrian soil.(AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool)

A Free Syrian Army fighter rests on a sofa as he watches television and surveillance monitors inside a room in Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal district July 15, 2013. Picture taken July 15, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

TOPSHOTS The father of three-year-old Khaled Baour weeps as he holds the body of his son who was killed alongside his older sister Safia, 14, after a shell landed on their family home while they gathered to break their fast with the iftar meal, prior to their burial late on July 14, 2013 in Maaret Al-Numan in Syria's southern Idlib province. The conflict in Syria began in 2011, with peaceful demonstrations calling for regime change but morphed into an insurgency after the regime unleashed a crackdown on dissent. AFP PHOTO/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

Syrian rebels head to the town of Bsankol in the northwestern province of Idlib to join comrades fighting regime forces for the control of the highway that connects Idlib with Latakia on July 11, 2013. Simmering hostility between Syria's mainstream rebels and jihadists has erupted into naked violence, with a Free Syrian Army commander in the coastal province of Latakia being shot dead by an Al-Qaeda front group. TOPSHOTS AFP PHOTO/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

An opposition fighter stands over seven year old Ahmad Jabir, who was injured alongside some his family members by a shell, as he lies on a X-Ray machine after he brought the boy to a hospital in the town of Al-Bara, in Syria's northwestern province Idlib on July 8, 2013. The town of Al-Bara has been under regular shelling during the past few weeks after clashes between rebel forces and the Syrian army started around the highway that connects the Idlib and Latakia provinces.TOPSHOTS/ AFP PHOTO / DANIEL LEAL OLIVASDANIEL LEAL OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

Rebel fighters look up listening as they take positions during clashes with pro-government forces in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on July 9, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ JM LOPEZJM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images

A rebel fighter passes through an access hole broken in the perimeter of a football pitch, close to the front line, where clashes between the rebels and pro-government troops have been taking place on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo, on July 4, 2013. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad accused the West of sending \"takfiri terrorist groups\" to his country as a way to get rid of them, in an interview with a Syrian daily published. AFP PHOTO/DONIEL LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

A Free Syrian Army fighter dives into a swimming pool inside a house in the old city of Aleppo June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)

Syrian girls walk with their mother as she turns to look at smoke billowing from three shells dropped on the town of Al-Bara in the northwestern province of Idlib on June 24, 2013. Syria's main opposition group has welcomed a decision by Arab and Western governments to boost their assistance to rebel fighters but said more such moves were needed to end the 27-month conflict. TOPSHOTS AFP PHOTO/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

A handout picture made available by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) shows US actress Angelina Jolie (L) holding a baby as she visits a family of syrian refugees in their apartment in Amman on June 19, 2013. AFP PHOTO / UNHCR / O. LABAN-MATTEI == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT \"AFP PHOTO /UNHCR/O. LABAN-MATTEI\" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==O. LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images

Members of the Free Syrian Army react as they fire a home-made rocket towards forces loyal to the Syrian regime in Deir al-Zor, June 16, 2013. Picture taken June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT)

Fighters from Iraq's Islamist Shi'ite militias celebrate before departing to Syria from Baghdad, June 11, 2013. Syria is splintering the Middle East along a divide between the two main denominations of Islam, becoming a battlefield in a proxy war between Assad's main regional ally, Shi'ite Iran, and his Sunni enemies in Turkey and the Gulf Arab states. As the Syrian war grinds into its third year, sectarian killings are increasing, while hardline Sunni clerics are declaring Jihad or holy war on the Shi'ites of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. All this is inciting Shi'ite militants to fight back. Picture taken June 11, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS)

Smoke from brush fires set off by stray mortar bombs fired during fighting between forces loyal to the Syrian regime and rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen near the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, June 7, 2013. Austria said on Thursday it would pull out of a U.N. force on the Golan Heights after battles between between Syrian troops and rebels there, in a blow to a mission that has kept the Israeli-Syrian war front quiet for 40 years. Israel, anxious for the international mission to remain in place, worried that the Golan could become a springboard for attacks on Israelis by Islamist militants fighting to oust Assad. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A student wears a headlight, due to electricity shortage, as he takes his year-end examinations at a school in Aleppo's al-Sha'ar district June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT EDUCATION SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stand near the dead bodies, which according to the forces belong to members of the Free Syrian Army, during what they said was a military operation against them in al-Mansoura area in Aleppo countryside, June 2, 2013. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) TEMPLATE OUT

A house burns beside sandbags after what activists say was a strike by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Arbeen district in Damascus, June 1, 2013. Picture taken June 1, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Al-Arbeeni/Shaam News Network/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Iraqi Shi'ite fighters salute to the shrine of Sayeda Zeinab, the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad, at Sayeda Zainab area in Damascus May 25, 2013. Picture taken May 25, 2013. REUTERS/ Alaa Al-Marjani (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) )

Syrian troops take control of the village of Western Dumayna, some seven kilometers north of the rebel-held city of Qusayr, on May 13, 2013. Syrian troops captured three villages in the strategic Qusayr area of Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP. AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EIDJOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

epa03696511 General view of the exploded area in Hatay, Reyhanli District, Turkey, 11 May 2013. At least 40 people were killed and about 100 injured in car bomb explosions on 11 May in Turkey close to the Syrian border, Interior Minister Muammer Guler said. Unconfirmed media reports later the same day claimed that a third device went off just a few hours after the two previous bombs killed at least 40 in the region. Conflicting reports said said that it might have been just a gas leak blast. EPA/AYKUT UNLUPINAR/ANADOLU AGENCY TURKEY OUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES/NO ARCHIVES

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) walks among his supporters during the inauguration of a memorial, dedicated to university students who died during the country's ongoing civil war, at Damascus University in Damascus May 4, 2013, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS EDUCATION CONFLICT) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION IS PROVIDED SEPARATELY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, and released on Saturday, May 4, 2013, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies in Banias, Syria. Thousands of Sunni Muslims fled a Syrian coastal town Saturday, a day after reports circulated that dozens of people, including children, had been killed by pro-government gunmen in the area, activists said. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN)

A man holding a water cooler runs to avoid a sniper in Aleppo's Salaheddine neighbourhood April 28, 2013. Picture taken April 28, 2013. REUTERS/Zaid Rev (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT)

TOPSHOTS Syrian women walk past the destruction at Dar Al-Shifa hospital in the northern city of Aleppo on on April 21, 2013. Syria's National Coalition head Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib has refiled his resignation and an interim leader is being sought, a fellow member and a source close to the main opposition group said. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINAMIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images

A boy from the Druze community holds a Syrian flag with the image of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad during a rally marking Syria's Independence Day in the Druze village of Buqata on the Golan Heights April 17, 2013. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognised internationally. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS ANNIVERSARY)

TOPSHOTS Syrian men evacuate a woman who was wounded after a government forces shelling in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 15, 2013. The conflict in Syria, which is now in its third year, has cost 70,000 lives, according to the United Nations. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFFDIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images

A Free Syrian Army fighter is seen in a tunnel in Deir al-Zor April 6, 2013. The 30-meter (98-feet) tunnel was dug under an area where Syrian Army forces have set up base in Deir Al-Zor, according to members of the Free Syrian Army. Picture taken April 6, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A bust of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of the current president Bashar al-Assad, is seen hung at a broken window of a building in Deir al-Zor April 2, 2013. Picture taken April 2, 2013. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SOCIETY)

Animal carcasses lie on the ground, killed by what residents said was a chemical weapon attack on Tuesday, in Khan al-Assal area near the northern city of Aleppo, March 23, 2013. The United Nations said on Thursday it would investigate Syria's allegations that rebel forces used chemical weapons in an attack near Aleppo, but Western countries sought a probe of all claims concerning the use of such banned arms. The deaths of 26 people in that rocket attack became the focus of competing claims on Wednesday from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's supporters and opponents, who accuse each other of firing a missile laden with chemicals. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY ANIMALS)

Demonstrators chant slogans and dance during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Bustan al-Qasr district in Aleppo March 22, 2013. REUTERS/Giath Taha (SYRIACIVIL UNREST - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

A Syrian woman carries her child outside their makeshift house at the refugee camp of Qah along the Turkish border in the village of Atme in the northwestern province of Idlib, on March 17. The conflict has killed at least 70,000 people, and forced more than one million Syrians to seek refuge abroad. Millions more have been internally displaced.

Nader, a 20-year-old fighter of the first batch of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, is kissed by his father, who is also a fighter in the same brigade, as Abo Abedi, commander of the brigade, looks on before Nader's wedding ceremony in Aleppo's countryside city of Al-Bab, on March 15. A mass wedding took place for fourteen members of the first batch of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, in Al-Bab.

A Syrian rebel crosses a street while trying to dodge sniper fire in the old city of Aleppo on March 11. Syria warned on March 12 that it is ready to fight \"for years\" against rebels, as world powers worked on a new initiative to find regime officials suitable for peace talks with the opposition.

A Free Syrian Army fighter mourns at the grave of his father who was killed by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in a public park-turned graveyard in Deir el-Zor, on March 11.

Members of the Free Syrian Army work on an improvised mortar shell in Deir al-Zor on March 8.

Free Syrian Army fighters carry their weapons and cheer as they drive in the northeastern provincial capital of Raqqa after capturing it, on March 4. Opposition sources and residents said rebel fighters captured Raqqa on Monday and toppled a statue of President Bashar al-Assad's father, in what would be the first major city to be captured since the revolt erupted in March 2011.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH Free Syrian Army fighters carry their weapons as they pose next to bodies of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-Khalidiya neighborhood of Homs, on March 3.

Kurdish female members of the Popular Protection Units stand guard at a check point near the northeastern city of Qamishli, on March 3.

Nihal, 9, puts olive tree branches inside a wooden stove at an underground Roman tomb which they use for shelter from Syrian government forces shelling and airstrikes, at Jabal al-Zaweya, in Idlib province, on Feb. 28. Across northern Syria, rebels, soldiers, and civilians are making use of the country's wealth of ancient and medieval antiquities to protect themselves from Syria's two-year-old war. The structures are built of thick stone that has already withstood centuries, and are often located in strategic locations overlooking towns and roads.

epa03593139 A handout photo made available by official Syrian agency SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency) shows a man coming to the aid of a badly injured woman as a vehicle burns in the background close to the site of a large explosion in the Syrian capital Damascus 21 February 2013. State media reported a 'terrorist explosion' which has claimed casualties. The blast occured in the Mazraa district of the city. EPA/SANA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

A girl who returned from school cries upon seeing her house destroyed after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighbourhood of Aleppo February 20, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

TOPSHOTS A handout picture released by Syria's opposition-run Aleppo Media Centre (AMC) shows Syrians inspecting destruction following an apparent surface-to-surface missile strike on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on February 19, 2013. Six children were among at least 19 people killed in an apparent surface-to-surface missile strike on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo late on February 18, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. AFP PHOTO/HO/SHAAM NEWS NETWORK == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT \"AFP PHOTO / HO / ALEPPO MEDIA CENTRE\" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - AFP IS USING PICTURES FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES AS IT WAS NOT AUTHORISED TO COVER THIS EVENT, THEREFORE IT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED ==HO/AFP/Getty Images

Um Jaafar, a woman fighter in the Free Syrian Army, sits as she rests in front of other women undergoing military training in Aleppo February 17, 2013. A group of women including Umm Jaafar are undergoing military training to form the Nazek Obeid group as part of the Sawt al-Haq (Voice of Rights) battalion, which is based on the frontline of Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood. Um Jaafar was a women's hairdresser before the revolution and was trained by her husband Abu Jaafar, a Sawt al-Haq battalion commander, to be part of Sawt al-Haq. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY)

TOPSHOTS Syrian rebels fire a mortar towards regime forces stationed at Kwiriss airport in Al-Bab, 30 kilometres from the northeastern Syrian city of Aleppo, on February 14, 2013. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and opposition National Coalition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib will make separate visits to Moscow for talks in the coming weeks, a top Russian diplomat said. AFP PHOTO / ELIAS EDOUARDELIAS EDOUARD/AFP/Getty Images

epa03566512 A man holds a child in his arms in Aleppo, Syria, 03 February 2013. An airstrike on 03 February destroyed a house and killed and injured several people. EPA/THOMAS RASSLOFF

A Free Syrian Army fighter throws a hand grenade inside a Syrian Army base during heavy fighting in the Arabeen neighbourhood of Damascus February 3, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

A general view of damaged buildings in Jouret al-Shayah, Homs February 2, 2013. Picture taken on February 2, 2013. REUTERS/Yazen Homsy (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

epa03560334 Locals gather at the banks of a small canal coming from a government-controlled suburb of Aleppo, Syria, to view dozens of bodies of people 29 January 2013. According to unconfirmed reports of eyewitnesses, most bodies had their hands tied behind their backs and had been shot in the head. Eyewitnesses, police and local residents are reported to have claimed the dead had been killed by supporters of Syrian government. EPA/THOMAS RASSLOFF ATTENTION EDITORS; GRAPHIC CONTENTS

A fighter from the Sadik unit of Free Syrian Army's Tahrir al Sham brigade fires his Draganov sniper rifle from inside a house during heavy fighting in Mleha suburb of Damascus January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

People ride on a motorbike loaded with pieces of wood for heating in Karm al-Tarab neighborhood in Aleppo January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT SOCIETY TRANSPORT)

A Free Syrian Army fighter walks between buildings damaged during Syrian Air force air strikes in Haresta neighbourhood of Damascus January 19, 2013. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)

Youssef (centre L), a member of the Free Syrian Army, holds his wife as his comrades fire their weapons to commemorate his wedding ceremony in Aleppo January 17, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY)

This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian rebel carrying food supplies, as he walks in front of a damaged helicopter at Taftanaz air base that was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria, Friday Jan. 11, 2013. Islamic militants seeking to topple President Bashar Assad took full control of a strategic northwestern air base Friday in a significant blow to government forces, seizing helicopters, tanks and multiple rocket launchers, activists said. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN)

A street vendor sells cotton candy in Aleppo January 15, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY)

Snow falls over damaged buildings at Jouret al Shayah area in Homs January 9, 2013. REUTERS/Yazan Homsy (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ENVIRONMENT)

A boy climbs a tree at a public park as he cuts branches to use for firewood in Aleppo on Jan. 1, 2013.

A girl looks up at the sky after hearing the sound of shelling at a school playground in Aleppo on Jan. 1, 2013.