A Syrian activist group said taht government forces and army defectors are engaging in fierce clashes on Friday in a town near the Turkish border, AP reported. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday's clashes in the town of Azaz in the northern province of Aleppo have left at least three soldiers dead. The Observatory, which has a network of activists around Syria, said military helicopters were seen flying over the town, eight kilometers (five miles) from the Turkish border. Mounting international condemnation of President Bashar Assad's regime and high-level diplomacy have failed to ease the year-old Syria conflict, which the U.N. says has killed more than 9,000 people. Activists reported dozens killed Thursday as Syrian troops shelled and raided opposition areas.
