Surprise attack tries to unite rebel-held parts of Damascus
SYRIAN regime forces were scrambling to defend frontlines near the heart of Damascus yesterday, after a surprise offensive by opposition groups.
Shelling and sniper fire echoed across the Syrian capital as rebels and jihadists attacked regime positions in the Jobar neighbourhood, just over a mile north-east of the Old City walls.
Control of Jobar has been split between regime forces and opposition fighters for more than two years, making it one of few areas in Damascus not under firm regime control. The surprise attack enabled the rebels to connect two of the capital’s last opposition-controlled areas.
The attack began in the morning, when jihadists launched a barrage of car bombs and suicide attacks.
Syrian state media said terrorists had infiltrated the city through tunnels in the middle of the night.
Opposition fighters seized part of a large bus station and fired rockets into multiple neighbourhoods, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
The move appeared to be aimed at connecting rebel-held territory in Jobar to the Qaboun neighbourhood. By linking the two pockets of opposition control, rebels seek to break the siege of Qaboun and cement their hold on an area uncomfortably close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s centre of power.
Israel has warned Syria not to fire at its jets when they carry out missions aimed at destroying weapons bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli defence minister, spoke out yesterday, days after Syria fired missiles at Israeli warplanes that had carried out airstrikes on its territory against a weapons convoy. Mr Lieberman said if it happens again “we will also destroy those defence systems without hesitation.”