Syrian Forces Pound Aleppo, Damascus

Government wants to retake two most important cities
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 4, 2012 9:05 AM CDT
Syrian Forces Pound Aleppo, Damascus
This citizen journalism image taken on Friday purports to show Syrian rebels celebrating after taking over the Ansari police station in the northern city of Aleppo.   (AP Photo)

The UN General Assembly may have formally condemned the violence in Syria yesterday, but today Bashar al-Assad's regime made clear what it thinks of the rebuke: Not much. Government forces are reportedly waging a fierce assault on rebel positions in Aleppo, and they've also launched an attack on the last remaining opposition bastion in the capital of Damascus, report Reuters and al-Jazeera.

One rebel commander in Aleppo says he doesn't fear the Syrian army's huge advantage in size and firepower—because he's banking on mass defections. "At the moment the soldiers cannot leave their bases and they are too afraid to defect. Once they are inside our city they will take off their uniforms and join us." (More Syria stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X