Deadliest day in Syria as army makes gains in Damascus The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that at least 93 of those killed on Thursday were government troops. The Local Coordination Committees, which documents civilian deaths, said 217 civilians were killed. Death tolls are difficult to verify in tightly controlled Syria which places severe restrictions on journalists. Early on Friday Syrian TV said troops recovered control of the rebellious neighborhood Midan in the capital. "Our brave army forces have completely cleaned the area of Midan in Damascus of the remaining mercenary terrorists and have reestablished security," the broadcaster said. Damascus activist Khaled al-Shami, contacted by the Associated Press via the Internet, said rebels carried out a "tactical" retreat early Friday to spare civilians further shelling after five days of intense clashes between opposition fighters and regime forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights however said that fighting was still continuing. The attack came after a night of fighting in several other districts across the capital, the Observatory said. The diplomatic bickering meanwhile continued, after Russia and China blocked a United Nations resolution threatening wide-ranging sanctions against the regime. Russia and the West are struggling to agree even on the extension of the UN military observer mission mandate, which expires today. Russia said it backed an unconditional 45-day extension proposed by Pakistan, while Britain wants to extend for only 30 days for a final time.