Four Syrian soldiers killed, civilians hurt

NICOSIA: Four Syrian soldiers were killed and several civilians wounded on Thursday during clashes between troops and deserters in a town in northwest Syria, rights activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops and security agents had attacked villages in the region, "Four soldiers were killed and a number of civilians killed or wounded in fighting this morning between the Syrian army and deserters in Jabal al-Zawiya" in Idlib province near the Turkish border, it said.

Security forces have been trying for months to bring an end to a popular uprising which has seen hundreds of thousands marching in major cities against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The United Nations estimates that in the crackdown more than 2,700 people have been killed since mid-March.

Syria maintains that the regime's opponents are armed gangs and terrorists trying to sow chaos in the country. (AFP)