DAMASCUS, July 29: The government of Bashar Al Assad declared victory on Sunday in a hard-fought battle for Syria’s capital Damascus, and pounded rebels who control parts of its largest city Aleppo.
Assad’s forces have struggled as never before to maintain their grip on the country over the past two weeks after a major rebel advance into the two largest cities and an explosion that killed four top security officials.
Government forces have succeeded in reimposing their grip on the capital after a punishing battle, but rebels are still in control of sections of Aleppo, clashing with reinforced army troops for several days.
“Today I tell you, Syria is stronger... In less than a week they were defeated (in Damascus) and the battle failed,” Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said on a visit to Iran.
“So they moved on to Aleppo and I assure you, their plots will fail.”
Rebel fighters, patrolling opposition districts in flat-bed trucks flying green-white-and-black `independence’ flags, said they were holding off the government forces in the southwestern Aleppo district of Salaheddine, where clashes have gone on for days.
Opposition activists also reported fighting in other rebel-held districts of Aleppo, in what could herald the start of a decisive phase in the battle for Syria’s commercial hub, after the army sent tank columns and troop reinforcements last week. Helicopter gunships hovered over the city shortly after dawn and the thud of artillery boomed across neighbourhoods. Syrian state television said soldiers were repelling “terrorists” in Salaheddine and had captured several of their leaders.
Some rebel-held areas were empty of residents. Fighters were basing themselves in houses — some clearly abandoned in a hurry, with food still in the fridges.
A burnt out tank lay in the street, while nearby another one had been captured intact, covered in tarpaulin and left in a car park, perhaps for the rebels themselves to use against any ground assault by the government forces.
In a largely empty street, flanked by closed shops and run-down buildings, women clad in long black abaya cloaks walked with children next to walls daubed with rebel graffiti — “Freedom”, “Free Syrian Army” and “Down with Bashar”.
Rubbish lay uncollected and in one street families were packing vans full of mattresses in apparent preparation to flee.
The leader of Syria’s main political opposition group, the Syrian National Council, called for foreign allies to provide heavy weapons to fight the government’s “killing machine”.
“The rebels are fighting with primitive weapons...We want weapons that we can stop tanks and planes with. This is what we want,” SNC chief Abdelbasset Seida said.
He also urged foreign allies to circumvent the divided UN Security Council and intervene to help topple Assad. “Our friends and allies will bear responsibility for what is happening in Aleppo if they do not move soon,” he said, adding that talks would start on forming a transitional government.
Arab League head Nabil Elaraby said the battle in Aleppo amounted to “war crimes”, and perpetrators would eventually be punished, Egypt’s Mena state news agency reported.
The Arab League has suspended Syria and lined up with the West and Turkey against Mr Assad. The Syrian government blames Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for the revolt.
Reuters reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey had set up a base in southeastern Turkey to aid the rebel “Free Syrian Army”. Asked about the base, a Saudi foreign ministry spokesman declined on Sunday to comment directly but said Riyadh provided financial and humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.—Reuters