ALEPPO COUNTRYSIDE: Syrian rebels are surrounding bases and military airports loyal to President Bashar Al Assad across the northern province of Aleppo, a commander said, but are struggling to counter attacks from jet fighters which can fly even from besieged airfields.
Colonel Abdel Jabbar Oqaidi, who heads the rebels’ military council in the province, also told Reuters that his forces are fighting without any help from the Western and Arab governments which want Assad removed from power.
Oqaidi, who leads between 25,000-30,000 troops across Aleppo province, said the rebel strategy had shifted from fighting Assad’s forces in the cities to surrounding his bases in the countryside - aiming to encourage defections and weaken the sites so they can be stormed.
This thrust has helped to loosen Assad’s grip in the north and east of the country. “We decided on this (strategy) lately,” Oqaidi said in an interview at his command centre in the Aleppo countryside. “The situation for us on the ground is really good.”
Oqaidi said his forces were now fighting less in heavily-populated urban areas. “At the beginning ... we were forced to attack the (Assad) forces in the districts to kick them out so that they do not harm civilians,” said Oqaidi.
“After achieving fighting experience, we went back to the countryside to liberate the big military bases. These bases are fortified with tanks, rockets, artillery, mortars, in addition airplanes. The siege ... cuts off the supply lines to these bases and most importantly it helps elements to defect,” he said, making it easier to eventually storm the bases.
The rebel Free Syrian Army is largely run by officers who had defected from Assad’s forces. However, the opposition has struggled to peel off large numbers of defectors and only a handful of high-ranking officials have abandoned the government.
Reuters
