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Sunday 3 March 2013

Moaz al-Khatib’s walkabout in Aleppo Governorate


Khatib being greeted by townspeople on the streets of Manbij
Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz al-Khatib today visited rebel-held areas in Aleppo Governorate to strengthen ties between the main opposition and rebel fighters on the ground.
Khatib entered northern Syria from Turkey and toured the towns of Manbij and Jerablus.
His visit came on the day rebels captured large parts of a Syrian police academy near Aleppo city, after a fierce battle resulting in heavy loss of life.
Almost 200 fighters had been killed on both sides over eight days, according to the UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
In other developments:
-- The Syrian National Coalition said in a statement “massive” assaults had been launched by regime forces against the central city of Homs and the strategic Damascus suburb of Darayya, which is held by the rebels.
-- Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague dubbed Bashar al-Assad “delusional” after the Syrian president told The Sunday Times in an interview it was "nonsense to suggest" that the conflict was about his future as leader. Hague responded by telling the BBC: "This will go down as one of the most delusional interviews that any national leader has given in modern times.”