State-run news agency SANA says life is back to normal on Sunday in Rastan after five days of intense fighting between the military and forces opposed to President Bashar Assad.

Syrian activists say the fighting in Rastan had pitted Syrian military against army defectors who sided with anti-regime protesters. It was among the worst clashes in the 6-month-old uprising against Assad.

Syrian authorities said they were fighting armed terrorist gangs. Activist Rami Abdul-Rahman said the Syrian military retook most of Rastan by Saturday after army defectors pulled out of the town.