International peace envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi was expected Thursday to arrive in the Syrian capital Damascus for talks with the leadership of the conflict-torn country, dpa reported.
Brahimi would meet with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Thursday and President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, an Arab diplomat in Beirut told dpa.
The Algerian diplomat became the second United Nations-Arab League envoy tasked with mediating an end to the 18-month Syrian conflict, which is estimated to have claimed more than 20,000 lives.
Brahimi kicked off the visit to the region on Monday in Cairo, where he held talks with the head of the 22-member Arab League, members of the Syrian opposition, and Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi.
Syrian opposition groups said al-Assad's forces were bombarding pro-rebel areas in the besieged northern city of Aleppo.
The Syrian Local Coordination Committees said 25 bodies were discovered in Aleppo after summary executions by government forces.
The claim could not be independently verified.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces shot dead former dissident lawmaker Ahmed al-Turk and detained his son in a raid on his house in Harsta near Damascus.
At least 160 people, mainly in the southern province of Daraa, were killed across Syria Wednesday, the London-based organization said.