SYRIAN REBELS BATTLE DEEPER INTO COASTAL PROVINCE
The Daily Star, Lebanon
March 26 2014
March 26, 2014 01:04 PM (Last updated: March 26, 2014 09:07 PM)
By Albert Aji
BADROUSIEH, Syria: Syrian rebels pressed their offensive deeper into
the coastal heartland of President Bashar Assad’s Alawite sect on
Wednesday, battling government troops backed by warplanes for control
of at least two villages in the heavily wooded and mountainous terrain,
activists said.
Opposition fighters from several conservative and hard-line Islamic
groups, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front, launched their
assault Friday on the northern stretches of Latakia province along
the Turkish frontier. So far, they have seized a border crossing,
and also gained control of an outlet to the sea for the first time
since Syria’s uprising began three years ago.
While modest in terms of territory, those gains have buoyed an armed
opposition movement that has suffered a series of recent setbacks
on the battlefield. Over the past month, Assad’s forces, backed by
his allies from the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, have captured
towns and villages along Syria’s border with Lebanon, squeezing the
flow of rebel fighters and materiel across the frontier.
A Latakia-based activist who identified himself as Mohammed Abu
al-Hassan said rebels were hoping that the offensive in Latakia would
draw more Syrian soldiers to the area, relieving some of the pressure
on harried opposition fighters elsewhere in the country.
“The thinking is to open a battle that will make the regime rush to
fight,” Abu al-Hassan said via Skype. “The regime can’t imagine losing
the sea (of Latakia). They will bring reinforcements, and that will
lessen the pressure (elsewhere).”
On Wednesday, rebels were battling government troops in the Latakia
villages of Qastal Maaf and Nabaain, activists said. Syrian military
jets were conducting airstrikes around to try to push back the
opposition fighters, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights.
“So far, it is attacks and retreats, nothing is certain,” said
Abdurrahman.
Both villages are south of the Armenian Christian town of Kassab and
the nearby border crossing, which rebels seized on Sunday.
The Syrian government took a group of reporters Wednesday to the
village of Badrousieh, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Kassab
and some 3 kilometers from Nabaain.
Badrousieh is a picturesque village on a hilltop surrounded by
mountains overlooking the sea – a pine wooded area with orange and
lemon and olive groves as well. The idyllic scene was broken every few
minutes by the roar of outgoing artillery aimed at rebel held areas,
followed shortly after by the distant thud as the shells landed.
A field commander told reporters that “terrorist groups” with the
“clear support” of the Turkish government attacked Kassab from
four fronts.
The commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with
regulations, claimed that the fighters battling the Syrian army
included Turkish soldiers and special forces dressed up like Nusra
Front militants.
He did not offer any evidence to support his claims.
Turkey, which used to enjoy good ties with Syria, is one of the
anti-Assad rebellion’s strongest supporters. Ankara has allowed rebels,
as well as weapons, to move with relative freedom across its frontier,
but there is no indication of direct Turkish involvement inside Syria.
The Syrian commander said armed groups are in full control of Kassab,
but that Syrian troops are still stationed in Nabaain as well as
Qastal Maaf and engaged in heavy fighting there.
He said around 50 Syrian soldiers were killed as well as “hundreds”
of terrorists, most of them foreigners including many Chechens,
in the past four days.
“The situation today is better than the days before, hundreds of
gunmen have been killed and you will hear good news in the coming days,
God willing,” the commander said.
The rebels advanced on Qastal Maaf on Tuesday after seizing a hilltop
area known as Observatory 45. Activists said the strategic post was
important because it enjoys a commanding view of the surrounding
mountains and green plains below.
The Syrian commander said the rebels moved on Observatory 45 under
after a pounding the position for three days with mortars and
artillery. They then detonated a BMW packed with explosives at the
entrance to the post, and attacked under the cover of smoke and fog.
He said the rebels have since been pushed back. They no longer at
the point but in nearby areas
On the coast, rebels captured a small, rocky strip known as Samra
on Tuesday.
The activist Abu al-Hassan said the area could be used by rebels to
smuggle weapons. He said the shoreline there at the foot of rocky
mountains was used by smugglers for decades because of its close
access to Turkey and the nearby presence of deep water. Still, Samra
has no port, and Syrian military’s airpower would likely be able to
prevent rebels from using any sea passage to great effect.
Syria’s conflict has killed more than 140,000 people, displaced at
least a quarter of its pre-war population of 23 million and triggered
a humanitarian crisis across the region.