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Syria's Assad gets Iran backing as fighting continues

Iran pledges support for Assad's government in Syria. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warns against 'sectarian warfare' and hundreds more deaths mount.

Iran has offered support to Syria's President听Bashar al-Assad听as his forces tried to choke off rebels in the northern city of听Aleppo.

Seeking to restore his authority after suffering the gravest setbacks so far in the 17-month-old uprising, culminating in the defection of his prime minister on Monday, Assad was shown on television on Tuesday meeting a senior official from his key regional ally.

It was the first footage broadcast of the 46-year-old leader for two weeks, and came a day after Syria's new caretaker prime minister was televised chairing a hastily called cabinet session, possibly to rebut reports that other ministers had deserted along with premier听Riyad Hijab.

Saeed Jalili, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran would not let its close partnership with the Syrian leadership to be shaken by the uprising or external foes.

"Iran will not allow the axis of resistance, of which it considers Syria听to be an essential part, to be broken in any way," Syrian television quoted Jalili as saying.

The "axis of resistance" refers to Shi'ite Iran's anti-Israel听alliance with Syria's rulers - from the Alawite faith which is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam - and the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war with听Israel听in 2006, with Iranian and Syrian support.

Damascus听补苍诲听Tehran听have held Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab states and听Turkey, all allies of the听United States听and European powers, responsible for the bloodshed in Syria听by supporting the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim rebels. Western powers sympathetic to the rebels are concerned that anti-Western Sunni Islamists could benefit from a victory for the anti-Assad forces.

Iran's听Fars听news agency said Jalili told Assad that Iran was prepared to provide humanitarian aid to Syria.

On a fence-mending visit to听Turkey, Iranian Foreign Minister听Ali Akbar Salehi听said he wanted to work with听Ankara听to resolve the crisis. Turkish Prime Minister听Tayyip Erdogan听described as "worrying" a comment on Monday by听Tehran's top general, who blamed听Turkey,听Saudi Arabia听补苍诲听Qatar听for bloodshed in Syria.

Iran has expressed fears for more than 40 Iranians it says are religious pilgrims kidnapped by rebels from a bus in听Damascus听while visiting Shi'ite shrines. Salehi wrote to U.N. Secretary-General听Ban Ki-moon听seeking his help to free them.

Rebels say they suspect the captives were troops sent to help Assad. A rebel spokesman in the听Damascus听area said on Monday three of the Iranians had been killed by government shelling. He initially said the rest would be executed if the shelling did not stop but later said they were being questioned.

U.S. Secretary of State听Hillary Clinton, without naming Iran or Sunni powers, warned against a descent into "sectarian warfare" and said Washington would not tolerate "sending in proxies or terrorist fighters" to "exploit" Syria's conflict.听

Rebel Ammunition听

In听Aleppo, rebels trying to fight off an army offensive said they were running low on ammunition as Assad's forces tried to encircle their stronghold in the southern approaches to the country's biggest city.

Assad has reinforced his troops in preparation for an assault to recapture rebel-held districts of听Aleppo听after repelling fighters from most of听Damascus.

"The听Syrian army听is trying to encircle us from two sides of Salaheddine," said Sheikh听Tawfiq, one of the rebel commanders, referring to the southwestern听Aleppo听neighbourhood which has seen heavy fighting over the last week.

Mortar fire and tank shells exploded across the district early on Tuesday, forcing rebel fighters to take cover in crumbling buildings and rubble-strewn alleyways.

Tanks have entered parts of Salaheddine and army snipers, using the cover of heavy bombardment, deployed on rooftops, hindering rebel movements.

Another rebel commander,听Abu Ali, said snipers at the main Saleheddine traffic roundabout were preventing the rebels from bringing in reinforcements and supplies. He said five of his fighters were killed on Monday and 20 wounded.

But rebels said they were still holding the main streets of Salaheddine.

A fighter jet pounded targets in the eastern districts of听Aleppo听and shelling could be heard in the early morning, an activist in听Aleppo听said.

"Two families, about 14 people in total, were believed killed when a shell hit their home and it collapsed this morning," the activist said. The house was one street away from a school being used as a base by rebels, he said.

Premier Defects听

As Assad's forces battle to retake听Aleppo, fighting has continued across the country. The听Syrian Observatory听for Human Rights, which monitors the violence, said more than 270 people - including 62 soldiers - were killed in Syria听on Monday, one of the highest death tolls in an uprising in which activists reckon at least 18,000 have died.

Sixty-four of those killed on Monday died in the city of听Aleppo听and its surrounding province, the Observatory said.

The president has suffered a series of blows in the last three weeks, from the bombing of his inner circle to the rebel gains in听Aleppo, at border crossings and briefly in听Damascus.

On Monday, Hijab denounced Assad's "terrorist regime" after fleeing the country.

The defection of Hijab, who like most of the opposition hails from the Sunni Muslim majority, was a further sign of the isolation of听Assad's government听around an inner core of powerful members of his minority Alawite sect.

Opposition figures, buoyant despite setbacks in recent weeks of fighting, spoke of an extensive and long-planned operation to spirit Hijab and his extended family over the Jordanian border.

A spokesman for U.S. President听Barack Obama听hailed Hijab's defection as a sign that the 40-year rule of Assad's family was "crumbling from within" and said he should step down.

Western leaders' repeated predictions of Assad's imminent collapse have so far proven premature, however.

The security forces have overwhelming superiority in firepower, which they have wielded against lightly armed rebels.

Hijab's defection was the latest sign of Sunnis abandoning Assad, but there has been no sign yet that members of his mainly Alawite ruling inner circle are losing their will to fight on.