Clashes break out in Syrian capital after insurgents attack

Fierce clashes broke out in the Syrian capital on Sunday after insurgents infiltrated government-held parts of the city through tunnels overnight, a rare if brief advance after months of steady losses at the hands of government forces elsewhere in the country.

It was a surprising breach of Damascus’ security perimeter, where the government has effectively walled itself off from opposition forces encamped in two enclaves in the eastern parts of the city.

President Bashar Assad’s government has endeavored to maintain a veneer of normalcy inside the capital as his forces bomb opposition areas on the edges and suburbs of the city. Outside Damascus, hundreds of thousands of civilians are living under government siege and bombardment.