Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa laid the foundation stones on Friday for two major development projects—Avenue Homs and Victory Boulevard—in the city of Homs, central Syria, and met with local community leaders.

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, expressed deep concern on Wednesday about the recent escalation of violence in Syria, especially in the suburbs of Damascus and in the city of Homs.

Editor's note: Russian military-political analyst, expert in the field of strategic security, specialist in the Middle East and Africa Vladimir Bekish. The article expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the view of News.Az.

The number of civilian casualties as a result of military action between the transitional government forces and rebels in the Syrian provinces of Latakia, Tartus and Homs has increased from 532 to 830 in one day.

Syrian rebels pressed their lightning advance on Saturday, saying they had seized most of the south, as government forces dug in to defend the key central city of Homs to try to save President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule, News.az reports citing Reuters.

Aircraft of the Syrian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Forces hit concentrations of illegal armed groups in the province of Homs, killing dozens of terrorists, the Syrian Defense Ministry said on its Facebook page, News.az reports citing TASS.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Baghdad on Friday morning for a trilateral meeting with his Iraqi and Syrian counterparts to discuss the ongoing developments in Syria, where rebels have seized large areas in just over a week, News.az reports citing foreign media.