Report: Bomb hits near Damascus shrine

Report: Bomb hits near Damascus shrine

(CNN) -- Syria's government on Thursday dismissed a U.N. official's claim that its conflict has turned into a full-scale civil war, saying the description contradicts the nature of the fight.

"Any talk about civil war in Syria doesn't reflect the reality," the government said in a statement released through the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

"Syria is not witnessing a 'civil war' but rather a struggle to uproot the plague of terrorism."

The statement follows news that United Nations peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous became the first official from the global body to declare the Syrian crisis a civil war. That was followed Wednesday by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who became the first Western government official to describe the bloodshed as a civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad has been under enormous international pressure to end a brutal crackdown that began in March 2011 with an attempt to crush an anti-government protest movement that later gave way to an armed rebellion.

Al-Assad has denied opposition claims he is targeting civilians and has repeatedly described the crackdown as a fight against "armed terrorists" bent on destabilizing Syria.

Ladsous' description came earlier this week amid reports of escalating violence in Syria, including a reported attack on unarmed U.N. observers who were trying to make their way to the embattled city of Haffa.

But U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters Wednesday it is up to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva to determine when the crisis in Syria is considered a civil war.

The Syrian government's dismissal of the description came the same day that a leading human rights group released a report that accused al-Assad's forces of killing civilians in organized attacks.

Amnesty International, in a 70-page report, said it found crimes against humanity and war crimes being committed by Syrian forces as part of a government attempt to take revenge on towns and communities suspected of supporting rebels.

The rights group called on the U.N. Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court to face charges.

France plans to propose the United Nations be given the power to enforce envoy Kofi Annan's failed peace plan, including considering the possibility of implementing a no-fly zone, to end the bloodshed.

"If you can't call it a civil war, then there are no words to describe it," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a news conference in Paris.

Meanwhile, violence erupted Thursday morning in the Syrian capital of Damascus when a bomb exploded near a revered Shiite shrine, injuring two people, according to initial reports by state media.

The explosion occurred near the holy shrine of Sayyidah Zaynab, which houses the tomb of Prophet Mohammed's granddaughter, SANA reported.

The blast occurred at a parking lot used by shrine-goers, the news agency reported.

A video posted on YouTube by the opposition shortly after the explosion showed black smoke billowing from the vicinity of the shrine, which is located near two Syrian government security buildings.

Heavy gunfire could be heard coming from the vicinity of the explosion, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition group that collects reports of casualties and violence.

CNN cannot independently confirm accounts of violence as access to Syria by journalists has been severely limited.

While state-run media blamed "armed terrorists" for the attack in Damascus, the opposition accused government forces of conducting a campaign of raids and arrests against those participating in demonstrations in the capital city.

The arrests in the mixed Damascus neighborhood of Hajar al-Aswad, according to the LCC, followed a demonstration Wednesday night in the area.

The blast in Damascus follows a claim by al-Assad's government that its forces reclaimed the northwestern town of Haffa on Wednesday, forcing rebels to stage a dawn retreat.

The government told state-run SANA that its forces had "restored security and calm after clearing it from the armed terrorist groups."

At the same time, an opposition group said rebel forces withdrew from Haffa and surrounding villages "in order to preserve the lives of civilians." The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Haffa had been under heavy shelling for eight consecutive days.

On Thursday, the opposition accused the government of shelling the western suburbs of Aleppo and an opposition stronghold in Homs, the Local Coordination Committees said.

At least one man was killed in fighting in Deir Ezzor, where the government has set up checkpoints in the city, according to the group.

Thousands of Syrians have died in the violent uprising. Opposition groups estimate the death toll to range from at least 12,000 to more than 14,000.

An effort by Annan, the U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, to broker peace between al-Assad's government and the rebels fell apart amid countering claims of violence.

The French foreign minister is calling on Russia to reverse its opposition to international action led by the United Nations. Russia and China, trade allies of Syria, have blocked U.N. Security Council attempts to pass a resolution calling for an end to the violence and for al-Assad to step down.

Fabius, the minister, is urging Russia to authorize the use of force in Syria under Chapter 7 of the Charter of the United Nations, which allows for action to stop the escalation of targeted violence.

"The time to make a decision has arrived. They have to jump ship," Fabius said.

Russia has repeatedly refused to support any action against Syria, accusing the West of using a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for the protection of civilians in Libya to support its effort to oust former leader Moammar Ghadafi.

CNN's Saad Abedine and Joseph Netto contributed to this report.

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