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Syrian Forces Step Up Attacks in Capital

A view of rubble and damaged buildings after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, Daraya, Feb. 4, 2013.

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Edward Yeranian

February 06, 2013

CAIRO — Syrian rebel forces stepped up their attacks on parts of the capital Damascus Wednesday in some of the heaviest fighting inside the city in months.

Government forces responded with heavy shelling of inner districts of the capital and closed off the city's main Abbassid Square.

Amateur video shows what Syrian rebel fighters claim to be an attack on a government position in the Damascus district of Joubar.

Opposition activists say that the attack is part of a multi-pronged rebel attack on government forces near the capital's southern ring road.

Witnesses inside Damascus say that government forces have been shelling to try and repel the rebel attack. Sources inside the capital also say that the city's historic Abbassid Square was closed as fighting raged nearby.

Rebel declaration

The rebel Free Syrian Army issued a declaration calling Wednesday's assault "Operation Epic in the Capital of the Omayyids" to liberate Damascus. The statement listed six rebel brigades that were participating in the battle, including the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra.

Earlier, a government security compound was hit in the central city of Palmyra, where a pair of suicide car bombs exploded. Activists said the bombings targeted a military intelligence compound, killing at least 12 Syrian security personnel.

State media described the explosions differently, saying they went off in a residential area and killed several people.

Peter Harling of the International Crisis Group said that the rebel attack in Damascus may be an attempt to relieve pressure on the rebel-held suburb of Daraya, which has been under heavy government shelling and aerial bombardment for days.

He said despite reports that government forces have pulled back from certain areas of the capital under rebel pressure, it was unlikely that the government was about to collapse.

"The regime has rebuilt itself into a rather cohesive fighting force and I think this notion that it's losing ground is partly an illusion," Harling said. "I mean the regime has been losing ground consistently on the economic, political, moral levels, but I think militarily it's still extremely strong."

Harling added that the government has "massive human resources and military assets in the capital" and that its forces are "entrenched in a large and very defensible area in the heights of Damascus."

A recent call for a negotiated solution to the conflict by opposition leader Mouaz al-Khatib has hit resistance from various opposition groups. The opposition Syrian National Council said that it would meet soon to discuss the proposition.

A Free Syrian Army fighter prepares to fire a B-10 recoilless gun in the Haresta neighborhood of Damascus, Feb. 7, 2013.
Free Syrian Army members raise an Islamic flag on a rooftop after heavy fighting with President Bashar al-Assad's forces, in the Jobar area of Damascus, Syria, Feb. 6, 2013.
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks in the Haresta neighborhood of Damascus Feb. 7, 2013.
Boys warm up next to a fire outside a building in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, Feb. 5, 2013.
Rubble and damaged buildings in Daraya after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, Feb. 4, 2013. (Shaam News Network)
A member of the Free Syrian Army points his weapon through a hole in a wall as he takes up a defense position in Daraya Feb. 4, 2013. (Shaam News Network)
A man carries his sister who was wounded in a government airstrike in Ansari, in Aleppo, Feb. 3, 2013.
People carry a body after a government airstrike hit Ansari, Aleppo, Feb. 3, 2013.
This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center shows people searching through the debris of destroyed buildings after airstrikes hit Ansari, Aleppo, Feb. 3, 2013.

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Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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by: JKF from: Ottawa, Canada

February 06, 2013 1:48 PM

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The opposition is slowly creeping ahead, as they close the lines of communication, and the fighting damages infrastructure, especially water supplies the regime will have to withdraw from Damascus, or just be encircled and oversee the total destruction of Damascus. The big concern are the number of civilans that will be trapped in Damascus, if it is encircled. Most of those civilians are associated with supporting the regime, therefore I expect that they will not fare well, and they will now become the majority of the victimes; I hope they have the sense and promptly withdraw to the coastal areas, if that is at all possible. At that point in time, the situation for Lebanon will become more and more at risk; potentially remainders of the Syrian gvmt forces may push into the Bekka valley and beyond; no question, that then a new confrontation may come about. It is very unfortunate that Lebanon has not requested help from the UN to secure its border with Syria.

by: Michael from: USA

February 06, 2013 10:04 AM

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The revolution or war against a dynasty, has from it's onset, the effectiveness of military arms, a priority which in turn is shared by suicide missions where armspower is first and life second. In the West, death is seen as ultimate (if it occurs, what else can matter?)

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