In Syria, government troops and rebel forces continued to exchange fire throughout the weekend in capital Damascus and the nation's second-largest city of Aleppo.

The Arabic news network Al Jazeera says rebel forces have seized three areas in Aleppo and government troops are reinforcing their offensive to take back control of the areas.

With the fighting intensifying, hundreds of people were killed over the weekend and Syrian refugees are lining up to cross the border to neighboring countries.

So far 19-thousand have died in the country and an estimated 200-thousand Syrians have taken refuge in neighboring countries.

With public security worsening by the day, governments around the world are calling on their nationals in Syria to return home and are preparing measures for their protection.