KASAB BORDER GATE OPPOSITE YAYLADAGI BORDER GATE PASSES INTO HANDS OF AL-NUSRAH AND ISLAMIC FRONT

Taraf, Turkey
March 24 2014

Gate Passes From Al-Asad to Al-Nusrah

The Kasab Border Gate, which is opposite the customs gate in the
Yayladagi district of Hatay province, has passed into the control of
Al-Nusrah and the Islamic Front. Fighting between [Syrian] regime
troops and militants seeking to take the border crossing continued
until the morning hours yesterday. At approximately 0500 hours,
the crossing passed completely into the control of Al-Nusrah and the
Islamic Front. The militants, following clashes that had continued
for three days, celebrated the capture of Kasab, the last remaining
border gate in the hands of the regime, by shouting out “God is great!”

Giving out cries of victory, the militants tore up posters of [Syrian
President Bashar] Al-Asad. The town of Kasab, where the violent
fighting took place, is inhabited primarily by Armenians and Alawites.

The groups attacking the border gate, which the Syrian government
claims had infiltrated from Turkey, were Al-Nusrah Front, which is
Al-Qa’idah’s Syrian arm, Ahrar al-Sham, which is the biggest group
from the Salafist rebels’ umbrella organization the Islamic Front,
and Ansar al-Sham. The importance of Kasab derives from the fact of
its being the gateway to the Latakia region, which is the stronghold
of the Al-Asad administration, and which also includes his family’s
place of origin, Kardaha.

Fighting Continues

Yesterday, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
(MIRSAD) reported that the militants were fighting with government
forces and said: “Al-Nusrah and the other groups have attacked the
crossing point and expelled the government forces.” Reporting,
however, that fierce fighting was continuing in the vicinity of
the crossing point and in the nearby town of Kasab, MIRSAD noted:
“Substantial military reinforcements have been sent to the government
forces.” MIRSAD had earlier announced that 80 people had died from the
two sides in the clashes that broke out on Friday. A Syrian military
source told the AFP that they had “dealt a heavy blow” to the rebels
who had infiltrated from Turkey.

[Translated from Turkish]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress