Rebels Make Gains in Blunting Syrian Air Attacks
Roughly two months into this important yet scarcely documented battle, Syria’s antigovernment fighters have succeeded in laying siege to the heavily fortified Abu ad Duhur Air Base. They have downed at least two of the base’s MIG attack jets. And this month they have realized results few would have thought possible. Having seized ground near the base’s western edge, from where they can fire onto two runways, they have forced the Syrian Air Force to cease flights to and from this place.
“We are facing aircraft and shooting down aircraft with captured weapons,” said Jamal Marouf, a commander credited by the fighters with downing the first MIG-21 here. “With these weapons we are preventing aircraft from landing or taking off.”
This is a significant setback for the government in the northern region, where rebels had already strengthened their position with homemade bombs, making roads too perilous for military vehicles to pass and restricting the military’s movements. But air power has remained a large advantage for President Bashar al-Assad, whose air force has pounded many cities and towns.
The rebels’ boldness, and their success, have not been painless. The army units inside the base have tanks, artillery and mortars. When attacked, the soldiers often respond by firing barrages of high-explosive rounds into the nearby town, in what amounts to a tactic of collective punishment against civilians. The effects are evident in the center of town, where block after block of buildings have been shattered. “This is the army, taking revenge,” said another fighter, Abu Razaq.
Rebels have blocked Syria’s use
of the Abu ad Duhur base.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/world/middleeast/rebels-make-gains-in-blunting-syrian-air-attacks.html?_r=1
