The battle of Aleppo: Al-Assad turns his eye on Syria’s commercial heartland as defiant rebels continue their defiant fight back

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The battle of Aleppo: Al-Assad turns his eye on Syria’s commercial heartland as defiant rebels continue their defiant fight back

July 25th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Government warplanes and helicopter gunships bombarded Syria’s business capital
Activists claim rebels had control over new pockets of Syria’s largest city
Rebels also continue to hold on to large chunks of Aleppo
Meanwhile, a Syrian army bombardment killed at least six children in the town of Herak
Video footage showed the bodies of several children in Herak with holes in their legs, torso and heads
Rebels accuse al-Assad of moving chemical weapons to country’s borders
Yesterday his beleaguered regime said it would use stockpiles if attacked
Rhetoric stokes demand for gas masks, which are state-funded in Israel
US President Barack Obama warned Assad not to make the ‘tragic mistake’ of unleashing chemical weapons

By
Matt Blake

PUBLISHED:

11:04 EST, 24 July 2012

|

UPDATED:

15:19 EST, 24 July 2012

The Syrian government is still in full control of its chemical weapons stockpiles, Israeli defence officials said today, in an apparent bid to calm fears that a non-conventional war could be looming.

Syria’s 16-month-old conflict has spread concern that the chemical arsenal, acknowledged by Damascus for the first time on Monday, could fall into the hands of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamist group allied to Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, or that Assad could use them in a desperate last stand.

The Assad government said such weapons are secure and could be used only as a last resort against Syria’s foreign enemies – an allusion to outside military intervention.

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Syrians run for cover as a helicopter hovers over the northern city of Aleppo. Syria's second city has become a new front in the country's 16-month uprising

Syrians run for cover as a helicopter hovers over the northern city of Aleppo. Syria’s second city has become a new front in the country’s 16-month uprising

The rhetoric stoked demand in Israel for state-funded gas masks, which have been distributed over the last few years as part of the country’s wider preparations for a possible showdown over arch-foe Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

‘The worry, of course, is that the (Assad) regime will destabilise and the control will also destabilise,’ Amos Gilad, adviser to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, told Israel Radio.

But he added: ‘At the moment, the entire non-conventional weapons system is under the full control of the regime.’

Assad’s eye turned its gaze on the nation’s commercial heartland today as he intensified his bid to flush out rebels from the city of Aleppo.

Government warplanes and helicopter gunships bombarded Syria’s business capital where activists claimed opposition fighters had control over several neighborhoods in the once bustling northern city.

On the ground Syria’s rebels, outmanned and outgunned by the regime’s professional army, continued to mount defiant offensives with street battles erupting in previously untouched pockets of the city.

The battle for Aleppo: Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin, near Aleppo, Syria's commercial heartland

The battle for Aleppo: Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin, near Aleppo, Syria’s commercial heartland

‘It’s like a real war zone over here,
there are street battles over large parts of the city,’ shouted opposition activist Mohammed Saeed, over the sound of gunfire and explosions that could be heard down a crackling phone-line. ‘Aleppo has
joined Homs and Hama and other revolutionary cities.’

On Sunday, a newly formed alliance of
rebel groups called the Brigade for Unification announced an operation
to take Aleppo, the country’s largest city with about three million
people.

Even as the government appeared to have snuffed out most of the rebel pockets in the capital Damascus, the rebels appear to be holding on to large chunks of Aleppo.

Circling fighter jets have also been breaking the sound barrier overhead in an apparent attempt to cow the fighters.

Stronghold: A Syrian rebel keeps watch in a hill camp near Aleppo. Activists claimed opposition fighters had control over several neighborhoods in the once bustling northern city

Defiance: Syrian rebels pose for a photograph and flash 'Victory signs', on a tank near Aleppo. They have continued to mount defiant offensives with street battles erupting in previously untouched pockets of the city, despite being outgunned

Defiance: Syrian rebels pose for a photograph and flash ‘Victory signs’, on a tank near Aleppo. They have continued to mount defiant offensives with street battles erupting in previously untouched pockets of the city, despite being outgunned

Prisoners in Aleppo’s jail also rioted overnight and activists said at least eight have been killed by government forces. Another prison riot in the city of Homs has been quelled with tear gas and live ammunition.

Meanwhile, a Syrian army bombardment killed at least six children and four other civilians on Tuesday in the town of Herak on the southern Hauran Plain, opposition activists said, and a video showed mangled bodies laid out in a local hospital.

Freedom fighters: A Syrian rebel stands guard in front of an old military base near Aleppo. On Sunday, a newly formed alliance of rebel groups called the Brigade for Unification announced an operation to take Aleppo

Commercial heartland: Aleppo is the country's largest city with about three million people

Commercial heartland: Aleppo is the country’s largest city with about three million people

Video footage posted on the Internet showed the bodies of several children in Herak with holes in their legs, torso and head, and a dead woman on the floor of a hospital.

One young girl wearing a pink and blue top with stars and hearts on it lay on a doctor’s table. Her legs were only attached to the rest of her body by skin.

Next to her lay another girl with a hole in her chest and two boys with gashes in their legs and head. One of the boys had a Popeye T-shirt on. All four were so small that they fit on a single doctor’s table.

Destruction: A burnt building in the flashpoint Khalidiya district of the central Syrian city of Homs yesterday

The eye of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad turned its gaze on the nation's commercial heartland today as he intensified his bid to flush out rebels from the city of Aleppo.

The eye of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad turned its gaze on the nation’s commercial heartland today as he intensified his bid to flush out rebels from the city of Aleppo.

Syria’s rebels accused strongman al-Assad on Tuesday of moving chemical weapons to the country’s borders, a day after his beleaguered regime said it would use its stockpiles if attacked.

Helicopter gunships strafed rebel neighbourhoods of second city Aleppo, as heavy fighting forced the closure of a third of the shopping malls of what is Syria’s commercial capital, pro-government media said.

At a Damascus news conference on Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi acknowledged that Syria has chemical weapons and said the regime would use them if attacked by outsiders, although not against its own civilians.

Rebel strength: Syrian army tanks hit by rebels in the Sakhur district of Syria's second largest city Aleppo. Government warplanes and helicopter gunships bombarded the city

Rebel strength: Syrian army tanks hit by rebels in the Sakhur district of Syria’s second largest city Aleppo. Government warplanes and helicopter gunships bombarded the city

Confident: Graffiti which reads 'Donkey' in Arabic under print portraits of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Saqba, on the outskirts of Damascus

Confident: Graffiti which reads ‘Donkey’ in Arabic under print portraits of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Saqba, on the outskirts of Damascus

Widespread violence: A Syrian man flashes his bloodstained hands at the funeral of Faisal al-Masri, allegedly killed by Syrian government forces in the city of Qusayr near Homs last week

Innocent victim: Doctors treating a wounded child said to have been injured by Syrian government forces shelling at Qusayr, near Homs

Casualties: Bodies are laid out at a cemetery in the Qabon district of Damascus. Opposition activists say at least 20 unarmed men were executed by Syrian troops

‘Syria will not use any chemical or other unconventional weapons against its civilians, and will only use them in case of external aggression,’ Makdissi said.

US President Barack Obama warned Assad not to make the ‘tragic mistake’ of unleashing chemical weapons.

‘Given the regime’s stockpile of chemical weapons, we will continue to make it clear to Assad and those around him that the world is watching,’ Obama told an audience of US veterans in the western state of Nevada.
Fighting on: Rebel soldiers pray at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey

Fighting on: Rebel soldiers pray at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey

Inspiration: The soldiers prayed as it was reported that Syrian forces had regained control of one of two border crossings seized by rebels on the frontier with Iraq

‘They will be held accountable by the international community and the United States should they make the tragic mistake of using those weapons,’ he added.

Despite the disarray in opposition ranks, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country hosts the rebel leadership, said he was confident it was close to victory.

‘The ruthless killings committed in panic in recent days show the world that the Syrian regime is on the road to oblivion,’ he said.

Neighbouring Iran warned it would not tolerate the collapse of its key regional ally.

‘The Syrian people and the friends of Syria will not allow regime change,’ Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy chief of Iran’s joint armed forces, was quoted as saying.

Still hopeful: A wounded girl flashing the V for victory sign in the city of Qusayr, near Homs

Grim: Helicopter gunships have been deployed by the Syrian government against rebel fighters causing heavy casualties in Damascus. Smoke is shown rising from the site of bomb explosion in the capital

Violence: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy attacks by government forces in neighbourhoods in Damascus which had once been held by rebels

International pressure on Assad to
step down has grown after a week of intense fighting in the capital
Damascus, including a bomb attack that killed four of the president’s
closest advisers.

Defying Arab foreign ministers who on
Sunday offered Assad a ‘safe exit’ if he stepped down, the Syrian
leader has launched fierce counter-offensives, reflecting his
determination to keep power.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad
Makdissi said the army would not use chemical weapons to crush rebels
but could use them against forces from outside the country.

‘Any chemical or bacterial weapons will never be used … during the crisis in Syria regardless of the developments,’ he said.

Attacks: News of the helicopter attacks emerged as Syrian rebels launched an offensive to 'liberate' the country's largest city of Aleppo. Syrian rebels are seen patrolling on pickup trucks near the city

Attacks: News of the helicopter attacks emerged as Syrian rebels launched an offensive to ‘liberate’ the country’s largest city of Aleppo. Syrian rebels are seen patrolling on pickup trucks near the city

Rebels: This image taken from YouTube allegedly shows members of the Free Syrian Army dictating a message to forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo

‘These weapons are stored and secured
by Syrian military forces and under its direct supervision and will
never be used unless Syria faces external aggression.’

Damascus has not signed a 1992
international convention that bans the use, production or stockpiling of
chemical weapons, but officials in the past had denied it had any
stockpiles.

The announcement alarmed Western leaders, who were quick to warn Syria against making any threats to use such weapons.

Britain said it was unacceptable for
the Assad regime to indicate it might use chemical arms, and UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was very concerned by the
development.

Under pressure: Syrian General Ali Abdullah Ayub, right, is pictured meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus

Unrest: This image allegedly shows newly recruited members of the Free Syrian Army riding on the back of a pick-up truck in Aleppo

In the US, White House spokesman
Tommy Vietor said: ‘Given the escalation of violence in Syria, and the
regime’s increasing attacks on their people, we remain very concerned
about these weapons.

Western countries and Israel have
expressed fears chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militant
groups as Assad’s authority erodes.

Israel has publicly discussed
military action to prevent Syrian chemical weapons or missiles from
reaching Assad’s Lebanese Shi’ite militant allies Hezbollah.

Abdelbasset Seida, head of the Syrian
National Council opposition group, said: ‘A regime that massacres
children and rapes women could use these types of weapons.

‘The technical infrastructure may not be suitable, but as I said, such a step could be expected from this murderous regime.

‘The international community must prevent this.’

Arab League ministers meeting in Doha urged the opposition and the rebel Free Syrian Army to form a transitional government.

But Makdissi rejected the call for Assad to step down as a ‘flagrant intervention’ in Syria’s internal affairs.

‘We regret that the Arab League stooped to this immoral level,’ he said.

It follows claims that Syrian troops
asked mothers to nominate which of their children should be executed
during an attack on a village in the south of the country.

Assad’s paramilitary force, the
shabiba, are said to have committed multiple atrocities over the weekend
in Ataman near the southern city of Deraa.

Regime
forces shelled the village before 250 troops arrived on five buses and
rounded up locals who had been huddled in cellars, according to
villagers who managed to escape over the border to Jordan.

The soldiers then announced over a
loudspeaker that they would start shooting children dead if local rebel
fighters did not surrender.