Posted on 02/16/2013 6:45:00 AM PST by bert
Syrian rebels have captured a military airbase in the north and geared up for a major battle against regime forces as the opposition says it refuses to accept President Bashar al-Assad in talks on the 23-month conflict.
The rebels on Friday said they overran the base in the town of Sfeira, east of Aleppo international airport, and captured a large stockpile of ammunition.
Activists reported intermittent clashes around the Aleppo airport itself as well as around Nayrab airbase and another military complex, as the two sides squared up for a major fight.
"The army shelled the area around Aleppo international airport and Nayrab air base on Friday morning, while rebels used home-made rockets to shell Nayrab," Rami Abdel Rahman, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
The Syrian army "is preparing a large-scale operation to take back control of Base 80", he said, referring to a military complex tasked with the security of both Nayrab and Aleppo airports.
Rebels seized the base on Wednesday after a battle that left at least 150 dead from both sides, among them senior army officers, according to the Observatory.
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Meanwhile, Syrian government has written to the UN attacking Turkey's "destructive" role in the conflict, state media reported.
"Turkey supports and publicly justifies terrorist, destructive acts" against Syria, the foreign ministry wrote in letters addressed to both the UN Security Council and Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general.
"Turkey has turned its territory into camps used to house, train, finance and infiltrate armed terrorist groups, chief among them the al-Qaeda network and the al-Nusra Front."
.....snip.....
Customs officers in Finland, meanwhile, said they had seized spare parts for tanks in a container en route from Russia to Syria on board a Finnish ship docked at Helsinki's Vuosaari port in January.
The European Union has banned all sales, delivery, transfers and exports of weapons to Syria.
This article points to some anti Assad progress
Our highly nuanced SOS Kerry claims he has a special relationship with Assad and will talk him into leaving his “office.”
So rebels indiscriminately shelling cities with "homemade" rockets is NOT a war crime?
Customs officers in Finland, meanwhile, said they had seized spare parts for tanks in a container en route from Russia to Syria on board a Finnish ship docked at Helsinki's Vuosaari port in January.
No why would the russians ship tank parts through Finland?
——— why would the russians ship tank parts through Finland?-——
because they lack decent container ports
If the rebels keep taking over all the Syrian airports, how will John Kerry be able to land his big Secretary of State plane so that he can meet his friend Bashar al-Assad for a friendly dinner to persuade him to surrender?
In fact, unless John Kerry gets to Syria soon — is he spending the weekend skiing at one of his country estates? — the rebels will have moved on from airports to taking over Mr. Assad’s presidential palace and it will be too late for friendly dinners.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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