Syria: Assad's Fighter Jets Bomb Aleppo

A group of FSA rebels in Aleppo. Photograph by ايم كول

In what is a major escalation in the ongoing civil war in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad has sent fighter planes to bomb areas in Aleppo, the business capital of the country and where the rebels have recently gained much control.

Whilst government forces have made much use of helicopter gunships and heavy artillery over recent weeks, this is the first time that fighter planes have been used in the conflict. The wealth of the Syrian government and vast array of hi-tech military equipment at their disposal has never been more apparent than in these attacks when the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and its affiliated rebel groups mostly have only AK-47s, grenades, and IEDs with which to reply. This escalation of attacks on their own cities has caused much confusion in the international community, but the attack was filmed and is not in dispute.

It was the threatened use of fighter jets to bomb Benghazi in Libya which caused the international community to set up a no fly zone in the area, to prevent further bloodshed – but still the UN is in deadlock due to the vetoes of Russia and China, and Europe and the US have so far only supplied medical aid and not military aid to the rebels.

Hillary Clinton is talking of creating a “safe haven” for the opposition within Syria which may imply a no fly zone although details of any such plan are scarce.

This comes after gains by the government forces in Damascus and continued heavy shelling of areas of Aleppo described as civilian targets

As the FSA is made up mainly of local people rising up against the Assad regime, the lines may, however, government attacks on such areas are claimed to be on military/terrorist targets. The regime are hoping that the shelling of any areas containing FSA fighters will cause the Syrian public to deny the rebels access to their districts – instilling fear in the population about collective punishment.

Whether as a result of the increased violence and targeting of civilians or for other reasons, the Syrian ambassador to Cyprus has defected from the Assad regime.
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Sources:
Local Coordination Committees of Syria
Hama English News
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
Yalla Souriya
Enduring America

YouTube
Brigadier General Amro’s Channel (FSA)
Military Defections Channel (FSA)