We bring you images of rebels and government forces battling it out in Damascus and Aleppo, both of them equally well armed and motivated; even as the world waits for an end to this conflict

A rebel fighter shoots towards Syrian government forces through a window at a flat in the Salaheddine neighbourhood of Aleppo on February 16, 2013. More than 300 people were abducted by armed groups in northwestern Syria over two days in an unprecedented string of sectarian kidnappings, a watchdog and residents said.