08-07-2013, 09:43 AM
And the beat goes on...Rebels make a come back
(Reuters) - Syrian Islamist rebels have killed around 200 people in a three-day offensive in the mountain stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect and driven hundreds of villagers to seek refuge on the Mediterranean coast, activists said on Tuesday.
Since launching the surprise assault at dawn on Sunday, the mainly Islamist rebel brigades led by two al Qaeda-linked groups have captured half a dozen villages on the northern edges of the Alawite mountain range, the activists say.
The rebel strike into Alawite territory and their capture of a military airport north of Aleppo mark two major gains for Assad's foes after months of setbacks during which they lost ground around the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs.
Combined with a steady fightback in the southern province of Deraa, they highlight the challenge Assad faces in trying to restore his authority across Syria after two years of conflict that has killed 100,000 people and fragmented the country.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/0...N520130806
(Reuters) - Syrian Islamist rebels have killed around 200 people in a three-day offensive in the mountain stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect and driven hundreds of villagers to seek refuge on the Mediterranean coast, activists said on Tuesday.
Since launching the surprise assault at dawn on Sunday, the mainly Islamist rebel brigades led by two al Qaeda-linked groups have captured half a dozen villages on the northern edges of the Alawite mountain range, the activists say.
The rebel strike into Alawite territory and their capture of a military airport north of Aleppo mark two major gains for Assad's foes after months of setbacks during which they lost ground around the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs.
Combined with a steady fightback in the southern province of Deraa, they highlight the challenge Assad faces in trying to restore his authority across Syria after two years of conflict that has killed 100,000 people and fragmented the country.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/0...N520130806