Battle spreads in Damascus
Rebels call fierce clashes in Syrian capital a potential turning point in civil war
BEIRUT – Battles between security forces and rebels rocked Syria’s capital for the third consecutive day Tuesday and appeared to be spreading to other districts of the city.
Opposition activists were calling the fighting – the fiercest clashes to date reported in Damascus – a potential turning point in the 16-month civil conflict, which previously had left the capital mostly unscathed.
A senior figure in the rebel Free Syrian Army, the main insurgent group, said Tuesday that the “battle for the liberation of Damascus has begun,” according to a Lebanese website tracking the conflict.
Col. Qassim Saadeddine, the Homs-based spokesman for the Joint Command of the rebel group, said the fighting will not stop until the whole of the capital has been conquered, reported the website of a Lebanese television station.
“We have transferred the battle from Damascus province to the capital,” Saadeddine is quoted as saying. “We have a clear plan to control the whole of Damascus. We only have light weapons, but it’s enough.”
However, it appeared that the government of President Bashar Assad maintained control of key state installations and thoroughfares. Military reinforcements were said to have been brought into the capital and rushed to battle- ground districts. Video from the capital showed armoured vehicles rumbling down main roads.
It was difficult to ascertain if the clashes signalled an allout insurrection in the capital or violent eruptions in certain restive neighbourhoods. It seemed possible that the violence could escalate and signal a new phase in the conflict.
Shaken residents of the capital reported the sounds of gunfire and shelling. There were reports of machine-gun fire in central Sabaa Bahrat Square and nearby Baghdad Street, in the centre of the capital.
The opposition said government forces were using attack helicopters and shelling to quell the unrest. There were unconfirmed reports that rebels had shot down a helicopter gunship.
Video posted on the Internet purported to show tanks rum- bling in the central district of Midan, near the old walled city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition group, said military reinforcements were dispatched to Midan amid intense clashes between armed rebels and regime forces.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said authorities “continue to chase down an armed terrorist group in the outskirts” of Midan, “inflicting heavy losses in the terrorists’ ranks.” The government typically refers to the rebels as terrorists.
Violence was also reported in the eastern district of Qaboun, where government forces attacked overnight with helicopters, said one opposition activist reached by telephone. An opposition group said helicopter fire had destroyed a number of buildings in the district.