Heavy fighting on the streets of Damascus.<br/> <br />Amateur video which could not be independently verified by Reuters appears to show streets fighting in the capital of Syria.<br/> <br />Activists say the Syrian army had closed down the road to the airport and is trying to surround fighters in southern neighborhoods of the city.<br/> <br />More footage shows heavily fighting in Idlib.<br/> <br />The International Committee for the Red Cross now classifies the conflict as a civil war.<br/> <br />Russia said on Monday it would block moves at the U.N. Security Council to extend a U.N. monitoring mission in Syria if Western powers did not stop<br/> <br />resorting to quote "blackmail" by threatening sanctions against Damascus.<br/> <br />Activists say at least 17,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began last March.<br/> <br />Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.
