Konflikten i Syrien

Syria's regime has declared victory over the nation's rebel uprising and reiterated support for a UN-Arab peace plan, as its troops reportedly continue to shell rebels in the city of Homs.

Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi declared victory during an interview on state-run television, saying Syrian troops would only draw back from urban areas once the security situation is stable.

The United Nations says more than 9,000 people have been killed in president Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on an Arab Spring-inspired uprising that began a year ago with pro-democracy protests.

"The battle to topple the state is over, and the battle to solidify stability... and move on towards a renewed Syria has begun," Mr Makdisi said.

The spokesman said the government's focus was also to "rally visions behind the reform process" and "prevent those who seek to sabotage reform".

The opposition reacted by calling for outside powers to arm rebel forces, while the United States and Gulf Arab states urged international envoy Kofi Annan to spell out the "next steps" if Damascus failed to implement his plan.

In Istanbul ahead of a second Friends of Syria conference, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council said the rebel forces must be armed.

"The Syrian National Council expresses the demands of the Syrian people," Burhan Ghalioun told reporters in Istanbul.

"We have repeatedly called for the arming of the Free Syrian Army. We want the Friends of Syria conference to live up to this demand."

Mr Ghalioun called for "a change in the balance of power" after more than a year of violence.

But the regime says troops will only withdraw from residential zones once they were secure, with Mr Makdisi citing that Mr Annan acknowledged there were "illegitimate armed elements within the opposition."

"The presence of the Syrian Arab army in Syrian cities is for defensive purposes [so] as to protect the civilians," he said.

"Once peace and security prevail, the army is to pull out."

But opposition figure Wadi Jamal, head of an SNC office which coordinates with rebels on the ground, said the Damascus announcement was timed to influence the meeting in Istanbul.

"The regime wants to send a message to the Friends of Syria that all is well and they have control of the situation, to break the morale of the revolution," he said.