By AL ARABIYA, 28 April 2012- Hundreds of soldiers defected from the Syrian armed forces on Sunday in the outskirts of Damascus and in the port city of Latakia, where large explosions were heard near the presidential palace, the Syrian Media Center reported.

Sima Malaki, spokesperson of the center, which represents the Syrian opposition, said dozens of soldiers defected from an army unit that was positioned near the presidential palace in Latakia.
The official news agency SANA reported that “one of the military units stationed off the coast of Latakia thwarted an attempt by an “armed terrorist group” trying to infiltrate from the sea,” quoting an unnamed military source.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights and activists confirmed that clashes broke out between Syrian troops and armed opposition forces in the village of Borj Islam near a presidential palace early Saturday morning.

Activist Sema Nassar said the fighting began as “officers and soldiers of a military base near the presidential palace … deserted with their weapons.”

“Loud explosions were heard as far as the city of Latakia,” Nassar added.

Separately, the observatory reported that Syrian troops killed at least 10 rebels in fighting in the Damascus region.

The official news agency SANA, meanwhile, said three soldiers and two “terrorists” were killed in Aleppo, as clashes erupted there between Syrian and “armed terrorist groups.”

The fresh violence comes on the heels of Friday clashes, which left 19 dead, including 10 civilians, according to the Observatory.

A suicide car bomb exploded Friday in Damascus, leaving two dead, according to the watchdog and 11 killed according to Syrian state media.