Syria: Clashes between army and rebels in suburbs of Damascus and near Aleppo airport
Syrian troops and rebels fought Tuesday in suburbs of Damascus as well as near Aleppo’s airport, stopping all flights in and out of the northern city, activists and state media said.
The intense fighting underlined the rebels’ tenacity in the capital and around Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, but also the determination of the Bashar Assad regime to carry on fighting. Activists say more than 45,000 people have been killed in the 22-month civil war.
In the past few weeks, rebels have stepped up their attacks on airports in Aleppo province, trying to chip away at the air power that poses the biggest challenge to their advances against Assad’s forces.
The Syrian air force has been bombing and strafing rebel positions and attacking towns under opposition control, but the rebels have no planes or effective anti-aircraft weapons to counter the attacks.