New #UN envoy to #Syria says Damascus must realize that need for change is 'urgent': http://apne.ws/OK21fn -MM
The Associated Press 
1:14 PM - 1 Sep 12 · Details
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, purports to show the funeral of Ahmed Ismail Zaqzuq, killed in fighting with pro-government forces in Damascus, Syria. Despite weeks of intense bombardments by the Syrian military, the civil war shows no sign of ending soon. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS CITIZEN
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, purports to show the funeral of Ahmed Ismail Zaqzuq, killed in fighting with pro-government forces in Damascus, Syria. Despite weeks of intense bombardments by the Syrian military, the civil war shows no sign of ending soon. Arabic on coffin reads " the fatah," the name of the first chapter of the Quran. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS CITIZEN
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Free Syrian Army fighter calls out to comrades as another fighter fires at Syrian Army positions in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo/Robert King via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Syrian rebel fires his weapon at Syrian Army positions during fighting in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon at a Syrian Army position through a hole in an empty and destroyed home during fighting in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, Free Syrian Army fighters engage with Syrian troops in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Free Syrian Army fighter gestures during fighting with the Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover as another fighter fires at Syrian Army positions in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo/Robert King via AP video)
Syrian prisoners sign their papers of release at the Damascus Police Command headquarters in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. Syria's official state news agency, SANA reported Saturday that 225 detainees, who took part in anti-government protests, were released. The amnesty by authorities is the second in a week as some 378 prisoners from Damascus and the central province of Homs, were freed on Monday. Rights activists say tens of thousands of Syrians have been detained over the past 18 months. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, Free Syrian Army fighters raise their weapons during fighting with the Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo/Robert King via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, Free Syrian Army fighters take up positions during fighting with Syrian troops in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Free Syrian Army fighter calls out to comrades as another fighter fires at Syrian Army positions in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, a Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover as another fighter fires at Syrian Army positions in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
In this image made from video and accessed Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, Free Syrian Army fighters raise their weapons during fighting with the Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian troops bombarded the northern city of Aleppo Saturday with warplanes and mortar shells as soldiers clashed with rebels in different parts of Syria's largest city, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes were concentrated in several tense neighborhoods where some buildings were damaged and a number of people were wounded. (AP Photo via AP video)
Syrian prisoners sit in a courtroom before their release in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. Syria's official state news agency, SANA reported Saturday that 225 detainees, who took part in anti-government protests, were released. The amnesty by authorities is the second in a week as some 378 prisoners from Damascus and the central province of Homs, were freed on Monday. Rights activists say tens of thousands of Syrians have been detained over the past 18 months. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N.'s new envoy to Syria said on Saturday that President Bashar Assad's regime should realize that the need for change was both "urgent" and "necessary" and that it must meet the "legitimate" demands of the Syrian people.
Lakhdar Brahimi's comments in an interview with al-Arabiya television came as Syrian warplanes and ground forces pounded the country's largest city, Aleppo, with bombs and mortar rounds while soldiers clashed with rebels in the narrow streets of its old quarter, according to activists.
The latest violence shows that government troops are still struggling to regain full control of the city from the lightly-armed rebels nearly five weeks after they stormed their way into it in a surprise offensive. Activists said rebels also captured an air defense facility in the east of the country near the border with Iraq.
