Syria denied today it is in a state of civil war, saying the country is facing "an armed conflict to uproot terrorism."
Wednesday's regime statement comes a day after UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said the Syrian conflict had escalated into civil war.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry says his statements lacked objectivity and were inaccurate and far from reality.
The ministry statement says authorities in Syria are confronting armed groups engaged in "killings, kidnappings and other terrorist acts."
Syrian authorities often refer to rebels fighting the regime in Syria as terrorists.
Also Wednesday, Syrian state TV said regime forces have retaken control of a rebellious mountainous village following eight days of fierce shelling and clashes.
The report said authorities have managed to restore security and order to the region of Haffa and have "cleansed" it from the "armed terrorist groups."
The rebels had pulled out of Haffa overnight after intense fighting there and in nearby villages in the coastal mountainous province of Latakia.
Haffa is one of several areas where government forces are battling rebels for control. It is particularly important because the town is about 30 kilometres from President Bashar al-Assad's hometown of Kardaha in Latakia province.
The state TV report came as Syria lashed out at the United States after Washington warned of possible mass killings in Haffa.
[h=3]U.S. accused of 'blatant interference'[/h] Syria's Foreign Ministry said the remarks by a State Department spokeswoman warning that Assad's forces could commit massacres in Haffa coincided with stepped-up attacks by rebels in the area. The ministry's statement was reported Wednesday by the state-run news agency, SANA.
"The U.S. administration is continuing its blatant interference in the internal affairs of Syria, its open support for the terrorists, covering up the terrorists' crimes," the statement said.
Latakia is the heartland of the Alawite minority to which Assad and the ruling elite belong, although there is a mix of religious groups. Syria's Sunni majority makes up the backbone of the opposition, and minorities such as Alawites and Christians have generally stuck to the sidelines, in part out of fears that they will be marginalized — or even face retribution — if Sunnis take over.
Heavy shelling also continued Wednesday in the rebel-held suburbs of Khaldiyeh in the central city of Homs overnight, Abdul-Rahman said. Despite a week's intense shelling, however, Syrian rebels are still clinging to the area. Footage posted by activists from there showed a city covered in a plume of heavy grey smoke. Intermittent thud of shells can be heard, followed by explosions as they slam into buildings.
[h=3]Rebels, troops exchange fire[/h] In the nearby town of Deir Baalbah, rebels and Syrian troops exchanged fire in residential areas, with rapid snaps of sustained gunfire echoing through the area, according to amateur video said to be from the scene.
It was not immediately clear if UN observers in Syria would be able to reach Haffa. On Tuesday, an angry crowd hurled rocks and sticks at the observers' vehicles as they approached the area, forcing them to turn back. The observers were not hurt. Sausan Ghosheh, a spokeswoman for UN observers in Syria, said the monitors have been trying to reach Haffa since June 7.
Meanwhile, Turkey said Wednesday it was concerned that the conflict in Syria could spill over its borders as the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey increased to more than 29,000.
"We are disturbed by the possibility that it could spread to us," Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru told state-run TRT television. Koru said 1,400 more Syrian refugees arrived in the past two days in Turkey, increasing the total number to more than 29,000.
Activists say more than 13,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict so far. It is not clear how many government forces have been killed — Abdul-Rahman said his tally suggested some 3,400 soldiers had died in the fighting as well.
