Battle reportedly rages in Syria city
By Patrick J. McDonnell and Nabih Bulos
BEIRUT — Intense military bombardment was reported Tuesday in the north-central Syrian city of Raqqah, where rebels have overrun much of the area and taken several highranking prisoners, including the provincial governor, according to opposition activists.
Opposition forces are trying to consolidate control of an entire city and a provincial capital for the first time, marking a potential milestone in the almost two-year effort to overthrow the government of President Bashar Assad.
Leading the assault on Raqqah, according to various reports, were several Islamist rebel factions, including Al Nusra Front. Its role could put a group designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization and Al Qaeda affiliate in full or partial control of a major city.
U.S. officials say they are attempting to ensure that tens of millions of dollars in nonlethal U.S. aid being funneled to the Syrian opposition reaches “moderate” rebel factions. But officials acknowledge the difficulty of making sure exactly where the aid ends up amid the chaos of war-battered Syria, where scores of insurgent groups lack a central chain of command. Different bands of rebels often coordinate battlefront operations.
“We need to make sure that our support strengthens the moderate opposition,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Tuesday at a news conference in Doha, Qatar.
Reports on Tuesday indicated that battles were continuing to rage on the streets of Raqqah, a city of more than 200,000 situated along the Euphrates River about 225 miles northeast of Damascus, the capital.
The Syrian air force attacked the state security and political intelligence buildings, both of which were overrun late Monday by rebels, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based proopposition group. Fierce clashes continued Tuesday as opposition forces fought to seize ammunition depots, the group said.
It was unclear, however, whether the military was mounting a counteroffensive to take back the city. There was no immediate word on the number of casualties.
The pro-government Al Watan reported that all communications to Raqqah had been cut amid “vicious battles” as thousands of gunmen descended on what the newspaper said had been one of Syria’s “calmest cities.” Raqqah has now become “a theater for terrorism,” the publication said.
Tens of thousands of Syrians displaced by fighting had reportedly moved to Raqqah because, until recently, the relatively isolated region had escaped much of the violence that has roiled other parts of the country.
On Monday, opposition activists were seen in video on the Internet toppling a bronze statue of former leader Hafez Assad, father of the current president. People also ripped down posters of Bashar Assad and were shown stomping on his image.
Among the prisoners taken by rebels in Raqqah were provincial Gov. Hassan Jalili and Suleiman Suleiman, who headed the local branch of the ruling Baath Party, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The pair would appear to be the highest-ranking government officials captured to date by Syrian rebels.
Meanwhile, UNICEF reported Tuesday that Syria’s civil conf lict had severely damaged the nation’s education system, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of schooling.
One in five Syrian schools has suffered damage or been converted into a shelter or commandeered by armed groups, UNICEF said. At least 2,400 schools have been damaged or destroyed, the U.N. children’s agency said.
More than 110 teachers and staff members have been killed, UNICEF said, and others are no longer reporting to their schools. “Syria once prided itself on the quality of its schools,” said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF’s Syria representative. “Now it’s seeing the gains it made over the years rapidly reversed.” patrick.mcdonnell @latimes.com Special correspondent Bulos reported from Amman, Jordan.