Opposition to set up inside Syria in days
Source: thetelegraph.com.au
SYRIA'S main exiled opposition coalition the Syrian National Council will in a "matter of days" set up in a rebel-controlled area inside the country, a top member of the group says.
"Very soon, we will install ourselves in Syria, deep in Syrian territory. It's a matter of days," Jamal al-Ward, a SNC official in charge of relations with the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), told AFP.
According to another SNC source, discussions over setting up operations inside Syria "have been going for a month."
Ward said that SNC leader Abdel Basset Sayda and other members of the executive committee will regularly travel to Syria via Atme, a village in Idlib province in the northwest which is a key rear base for the rebels near the Turkish border.
Sayda entered Syria from Turkey on Monday for the first time since he took up leadership of the opposition, visiting Atme and the front line outpost Bab al-Hawa.
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Gunmen of Homs flee to Lebanon, Homs to be safe within hours
Source: Breaking News Syria
Dozens of insurgents have fled to Lebanon in the aftermath of a military operation by the Syrian Army in the province of Homs.
On Tuesday, Lebanese security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that dozens of insurgents entered the country through the Mashareeh al-Qaa area over the past two days, the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star reported.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army has beefed up its presence along the border with Syria.
Furthermore, Al-Watan Newspaper has atated today that the Syrian Army has been making huge advance in Homs province, killing large numbers of the Free Army fighters.
The Newspaper stated that “All neighborhoods in Homs will be declared safe and secure within Hours”.
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Syrian Rebels Seize Key Town on Aleppo-Damascus Highway | News
Syrian rebel fighters have reportedly seized the strategically important town of Maaret al-Numan today, with report that government forces have withdrawn from all checkpoints in the area except for the one at the entrance.
The town has been contested for months, and the military had been effectively in control since June. The town, in the Idlib Province, lies of the highway between Aleppo and the capital city of Damascus, effectively cutting Aleppo off from reinforcements.
Aleppo has been the site of some of the bloodiest fighting for over a month now, with both rebels and regime predicting a quick victory but instead seeing a stalemate, bringing Syria’s largest city and industrial capital to a standstill as much of it is now a constant open-fire zone.
As Syria’s most important city, Aleppo of course has more than one highway leading to it, so it is unclear how important losing the one to Damascus will be for regime forces there. Still, the move suggests the rebels are trying to make inroads in Syria’s supply route
Syria sends extra troops after rebels seize key town: activists
Source: The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Syria's army has rushed extra troops to Idlib after a strategic town in the northwestern province was seized by rebels, cutting off routes to the embattled commercial capital Aleppo, a watchdog said Wednesday.
"Helicopters are overflying the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, without elaborating on how many additional troops were on their way to the town of Maaret al-Numan.
The Britain-based Observatory said six civilians were killed in army shelling of Maaret al-Numan on Tuesday, while 12 rebel fighters died in the fight for control of the town.
The Observatory had on Tuesday reported that rebels overran Maaret al-Numan, on the highway linking Damascus with Aleppo, after a fierce 48-hour gunbattle and heavy shelling.
"Regular forces pulled back from all of their checkpoints around Maaret al-Numan, except for one at the entrance of the town," said Abdel Rahman.
"This is a strategic location on the route from Damascus to Aleppo. All the regime reinforcements headed to Aleppo must pass through Maaret al-Numan."
In a video released by activists on Tuesday, about 20 fighters belonging to the Martyrs' Brigade can be seen gathered around a tank at a captured army checkpoint in Maaret al-Numan shooting into the air in celebration.
Maaret al-Numan had originally fallen under rebel control on June 10, but it was retaken by the army in August, said the Observatory.
Aleppo, north of Maaret al-Numan, has been rocked by intense fighting between rebels and regime forces since mid-July and has become the focal point of the conflict ravaging Syria.
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