Syrian War Is Slipping From The Hands Of Battered Rebels
After three years, the humanitarian situation is getting worse, talks appear near collapse and rebels still vow to fight 'to the last man.'
By Patrick McDonnell March 15, 2014,
ARSAL, Lebanon — The battle is not going well for rebels dug in across the nearby brown hills in Syria, where pro-government forces were closing in Saturday on the opposition stronghold of Yabroud.
Syrian insurgents and their many supporters on this side of the border exhibit both bravado and anguish about a battle, and a war, that is fast slipping from their hands.
"We have to keep on fighting to the last man, the last breath," Abu Omar, 21, who lost his left leg to a tank shell outside Yabroud, said from his hospital bed. "We have no choice."
Around him in this threadbare clinic, the bandaged and battered rebel fighters hooked to intravenous tubes testified to the plight of those aiming to topple the government of Bashar Assad.
The Syrian war marked its third anniversary this week, a dismal milestone rendered bleaker still by the sense that bloodshed will not ease anytime soon.
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http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-lebanon-anniversary-20140316,0,295559.story#ixzz2w6g2SA5i
