Syrian rebel faction claims control of base in Aleppo
BEIRUT — An Islamist faction of Syrian rebels captured an infantry base in the northern city of Aleppo, its fighters said Sunday, as forces fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad advanced on the country’s largest city.
Also Sunday, Syrian warplanes blasted a Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus, killing eight people and wounding dozens, activists said. Some Palestinian groups in the Yarmouk camp have been backing Assad’s regime.
The base was the second major army installation taken by rebels in a week in Aleppo. Its fall is the latest blow to the Assad regime.
Last week more than 100 nations, including the United States, recognized the new Syrian opposition council as the legitimate representative of the country, a boost for the opposition forces that have been bombing regime targets in and around Damascus, once an impregnable stronghold of the Assad regime.
A statement by the alTawheed Brigade said the rebels “fully liberated” the military facility in Aleppo on Saturday. It was posted on alTawheed’s official website on Sunday and said the Islamist rebel brigade’s commander was killed in the battle.
The complex, known as Hanano Barracks, includes an army base, a recruiting centre and a military school.
“WE CONDEMN IN THE STRONGEST TERMS THE CRIME OF ASSAD’S REGIME IN YARMOUK REFUGEE CAMP.” YASSER ABED RABBO
The al- Tawheed Brigade is one of the largest rebel groups operating in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, which has been a major front in the civil war since July.
One of the videos posted on the group’s website shows the body of a man the narrator says is “the hero and martyr who was killed on the day of liberating the infantry school,” apparently the al- Tawheed commander, Col. Youssef al- Jader. A boy said to be the commander’s son is seen crying as he leans over the dead man.
Another video shows several rebels praying at the captured base. Armed fighters are also seen walking around the infantry school with slogans “Assad Forever” and pictures of Assad and his late father, Hafez, hanging on the walls.
The Assad family has ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than 40 years.
In a related development, Egypt said Sunday that it has evacuated more than 4,000 of its nationals from Syria over the past few months. The Cairo Foreign Ministry statement did not give further details.
The Britain- based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighter jets carried out six airstrikes the Hajar Aswad area and the neighbouring Yarmouk Palestinian camp, where the rebels have been advancing.
In Ramallah, Palestinian officials blasted the Syrian government for the attack.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the crime of Assad’s regime in Yarmouk refugee camp, and call on all international parties, including the states that still back this regime, to act immediately and stop these massacres against Syrians and Palestinians in Syria,” PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo told the AP.