Syrian rebels change course in Damascus
BEIRUT Syria’s armed opposition, driven back from Damascus in a fierce governmentcounteroffensive over the summer, appears to be responding with a revamped strategy that runs through some of the capital’s most explosive sectarian and ethnic fault lines.
A pair of bombings this week struck districts that are strongholds of President Bashar Assad’s Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam whose adherents are generally hostile to the Sunni- led uprising. Trusted Alawite commanders run much of Assad’s security apparatus.
Meanwhile, rebels have reportedly launched attacks this week on a major pro- Assad Palestinian faction. Syria’s 500,000- strong Palestinian community appears to be split between Assad stalwarts and those who sympathize with fellowSunni rebels fighting to oust the president.
Accompanying the recent violence has been a string of targeted killings andassassinations of prominent figures associated with the government.
The opposition tactics in the capital have underscored the rebels’ continued ability to strike at the heart of Assad’s government despite stringent security, including a plethora of checkpoints. This summer, a robust Syrian military campaign routed rebels from districts like Midan and Barzeh, leaving many dead and driving others back to the edges of the capital.
The new rebel strategy appears to be less about holding territory than conducting something closer to guerrilla- style strikes, including sensational car bombings that have caused civilian casualties.
The rebel tactics could complicate efforts to build international support at a time when Western governments are worried about an influx of militants. Car bombs and sectariantinged attacks appear to many outsiders as the domain of Islamic extremists, not democracy- seeking revolutionaries.
OnWednesday, a leading pro- Assad Palestinian faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General Command, issued a statement saying “armed gangs” had waged a “vicious attack” on refugee settlements in theYarmouk area on the capital’s outskirts. The group said it repulsed the assailants, resulting in scores of mortar shells being firedin retribution. There were no confirmed reports on casualties.
The leadership of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas left Damascus months ago in what was widely regarded as its rejection of Assad’s crackdown on the Sunni- led rebellion.
Also Wednesday, rebel mortar shells fell in the capital’s Mazzeh al- Jabal district, home to many Alawite officers, killing at least three people and leaving six others hospitalized, including three in critical condition, the official news service reported.
A rebel official denied a sectarian motive behind Wednesday’s mortar attacks. The mortars were supposed to hit government and security targets, including the presidential palace, he said.