Syrian Troops Advance Against Rebels in Damascus

Photo: AP Presiden Syria Bashar Assad melambaig selamat tinggal dia meninggalkan Istana Elysee berikutan pertemuannya dengan rakan sejawatannya dari Perancis itu Nicolas Sarkozy, di Paris. Identiti Arab kembali di landasan yang betul selepas jatuh dari kuasa Ikhwan Muslimin Mesir, yang telah menggunakan agama untuk kepentingan politiknya sendiri, Assad berkata dalam ucapan yang disiarkan hari ini. (Photo: AP Syrian President Bashar Assad waves a goodbye as he leaves the Elysee Palace following his meeting with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris. Arab identity is back on the right track after the fall from power of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which had used religion for its own political gain, Assad said in remarks published Thursday)

Mid.East NEWS - DAMSYIK, Syria (AP) Tentera kerajaan melepaskan peluru kereta kebal dan meriam dalam pertempuran berat antara tentera Syria dan pemberontak Ahad di pinggir Damsyik, di mana tentera telah menolak serangan untuk merebut kembali daerah utama yang telah berada di tangan pembangkang untuk beberapa bulan.

Tentera Syria telah merampas momentum dalam perang saudara dalam tempoh 3 bulan lalu, merampas kembali wilayah yang tewas kepada pasukan pemberontak dan memantapkan pegangan ke atas kawasan-kawasan yang dipertandingkan, terutama di pinggir Damsyik. 2 daripada daerah diperangi adalah Jobar dan Qaboun, dari mana pemberontak sering melancarkan mortar di tengah-tengah ibu kota.

Seorang panglima tentera Syria berkata pasukan yang setia kepada Presiden Bashar Assad mempunyai 60%peratus berjaya menawan semula Jobar, selatan Qaboun, dan cuba untuk merebut kembali yang lain. Komander bercakap kepada pemberita Ahad semasa lawatan diiringi tentera Jobar dianjurkan oleh Kementerian Penerangan. Tuntutannya tidak dapat disahkan secara bebas.

Seorang wartawan Associated Press dalam lawatan itu menyaksikan kemusnahan meluas yang menunjukkan pertempuran berat di kejiranan. Kilang jubin Marble telah musnah. Wartawan membuat cara mereka di kawasan itu musnah dengan memanjat melalui lubang mengetuk di dinding kerana amaran penembak tepat pemberontak di kawasan itu.

Sekurang-kurangnya 2 mayat, nampaknya orang-orang lelaki bersenjata pemberontak, meletakkan di atas lantai kubu yang diterangkan oleh pegawai itu sebagai "pengganas" tempat persembunyian. "Tentera adalah memajukan pesat dalam Jobar . . . kawasan itu akan diperolehi dalam beberapa hari akan datang menurut pelan baik dikaji," kata komander. Beliau enggan namanya disiarkan selaras dengan peraturan-peraturan.

Jobar adalah berhampiran dengan jalan raya yang menghubungkan Damsyik dengan pinggir bandar timur yang dikenali sebagai Timur Ghouta. Pemberontak telah menggunakan jalan raya untuk mengangkut senjata dan bekalan lain ke ibu negara, kerusi kuasa Assad.

Komander berkata paksi Jobar-Qaboun adalah penting untuk "membersihkan Ghouta daripada kumpulan pengganas." Kerajaan Assad, rutin pemberontak menerangkan berjuang untuk menggulingkan beliau sebagai pengganas bermain daripada konspirasi asing menetas oleh Israel, Amerika Syarikat dan beberapa sekutu Arab di rantau ini, seperti Qatar dan Arab Saudi.

Semasa lawatan Jobar, wartawan telah dibawa ke tempat persembunyian tentera berkata ia merampas sehari lebih awal selepas membunuh 30 pemberontak dan pemimpin mereka di sana. Wartawan ditunjukkan pusingan RPG mortar dan bahan letupan, serta bahan kimia yang dikatakan dengan bau yang kuat.

Grafiti bahasa Arab di dinding berbunyi: "Brigade al-Tawhid," dan "Negara Islam Iraq dan Levant" - nama kumpulan militan berjuang untuk menggulingkan Assad. Lawatan Ahad ini datang sebagai utama kumpulan pembangkang yang disokong Barat Syria mendakwa bahawa 200 orang awam yang terperangkap dalam sebuah masjid di Qaboun sebagai pertempuran tercetus di luar antara pemberontak dan tentera Assad. Ia memberi amaran bahawa beribu-ribu orang awam di Qaboun boleh "terbunuh" oleh tentera Assad sebagai kereta perisai dan pasukan elit bergerak masuk

Balai Cerap Syria yang berpangkalan di UK untuk Hak Asasi Manusia, yang bergantung pada rangkaian aktivis di atas darat, berkata berpuluh-puluh orang telah ditahan Sabtu oleh tentera rejim di ruangan bawah tanah masjid al-Omari, tetapi mereka dapat melarikan diri apabila pertempuran tercetus antara pemberontak dan tentera rejim di perimeter masjid, dan tentera berundur.

Ia berkata 13 orang, termasuk 7 pejuang, mati dalam serangan daripada Qaboun Ahad. "Mereka (tentera) menggunakan kereta kebal dan meriam dan cuba untuk memecah masuk ke dalam Qaboun. Serangan ini sangat sengit dan terdapat banyak asap," kata seorang aktivis di kawasan itu, bercakap melalui Skype dengan syarat tidak mahu namanya disiarkan, takut hukuman.

"Ini adalah hari 26 daripada kempen pengeboman, dan mereka masih belum dapat memecahkan Qaboun," katanya. Kemudian Ahad, letupan bom yang kuat menggegarkan Deir Atiyeh bandar utara Damsyik, membunuh dan mencederakan beberapa orang, kata aktivis. Bom meletup berhampiran stesen polis di kawasan yang padat dengan penduduk, tetapi kebanyakan mangsa adalah orang awam, menurut Balai Cerap dan Majlis Tentera untuk Damsyik dan Suburbs, sekumpulan pemberontak.

Di Washington, pegawai-pegawai Amerika Syarikat berkata Israel disasarkan peluru berpandu anti-kapal berhampiran bandar pelabuhan utama Syria dalam serangan udara awal bulan ini, menurut satu laporan oleh The New York Times. Ia memetik pegawai-pegawai sebagai berkata serangan itu pada 5 Julai berhampiran Latakia disasarkan maju Yakhont peluru berpandu buatan Russia bahawa Rusia menjual kepada Syria.

Tiada komen segera daripada kerajaan Assad, yang sekutu politik utama dan pembekal adalah senjata Rusia. Ditanya mengenai laporan mengenai rancangan CBS-TV "Wajah Negara," kata Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu enggan mengesahkan atau menafikan penglibatan Israel.

Beliau menegaskan bahawa beliau tidak akan membenarkan "senjata berbahaya" untuk mencapai militan Hizbullah Lubnan.

Halaby dilaporkan dari Amman, Jordan. Associated Press penulis Zeina Karam di Beirut dan Josef Federman di Jerusalem menyumbang kepada laporan ini.

Photo: AP Seorang budak lelaki Syria melaungkan slogan menentang rejim di hadapan bendera kumpulan pembangkang bersenjata Islam, depan Nusra, semasa demonstrasi di kejiranan al-Qasr Bustan Aleppo, Syria. Aktivis berkata pada Sabtu Julai 13, 2013 bahawa pemberontak Syria dan pejuang dari kumpulan al-Qaeda berkaitan telah bertukar senjata mereka kepada satu sama lain dan berjuang untuk mengawal pusat pemeriksaan utama di bandar utara Aleppo. Pemeriksaan adalah satu-satunya pintu masuk antara daerah-daerah timur pemberontak-diadakan dan kawasan-kawasan barat bandar ini, yang dikawal oleh tentera Presiden Bashar Assad. Arab pada banner di latar belakang mengandungi kata-kata dari Al-Quran yang berbunyi, "Tidak ada Tuhan melainkan Allah, dan Muhammad adalah Rasul-Nya, depan Nusra yang" (Photo: AP A Syrian boy shouts slogans against the regime in front of a flag of the armed Islamic opposition group, the Nusra front, during a demonstration in the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Activists said on Saturday, July 13, 2013 that Syrian rebels and fighters from an al-Qaida-linked group have turned their guns on each other and are fighting for control of a key checkpoint in the northern city of Aleppo. The checkpoint is the only gateway between rebel-held eastern districts and the city's western areas, controlled by President Bashar Assad's troops. Arabic on banner in background contains words from the Quran and reads, "There is not God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger, the Nusra front"

Photo: AP Syria tentera bersorak selepas bertarung dengan pemberontak semasa lawatan untuk wartawan yang dianjurkan oleh Kementerian Penerangan Syria di pinggir Damsyik Jobar, Syria, Ahad 14 Julai, 2013. Tentera kerajaan melepaskan tembakan peluru kereta kebal dan meriam dalam pertempuran berat antara tentera Syria dan pemberontak Ahad di pinggir Damsyik, di mana tentera telah menolak serangan untuk merebut kembali daerah utama yang telah berada di tangan pembangkang untuk beberapa bulan" (Photo: AP Syrian soldiers cheer after battling with rebels during a tour for journalists organized by the Syrian Information Ministry in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, Syria, Sunday, July 14, 2013. Government troops fired tank shells and artillery in heavy clashes between Syrian forces and rebels Sunday on the edge of Damascus, where the military has been pushing its offensive to retake key districts that have been in opposition hands for months.

Photo: AP Seorang pejuang pemberontak berdiri pengawal di tempat pemeriksaan terkibar banner Islam berhampiran barisan hadapan dalam kawasan kejiranan al-Qasr Bustan Aleppo, Syria. Aktivis berkata pada Sabtu Julai 13, 2013 bahawa pemberontak Syria dan pejuang dari kumpulan al-Qaeda berkaitan telah bertukar senjata mereka kepada satu sama lain dan berjuang untuk mengawal pusat pemeriksaan utama di bandar utara Aleppo. Pemeriksaan adalah satu-satunya pintu masuk antara daerah-daerah timur pemberontak-diadakan dan kawasan-kawasan barat bandar ini, yang dikawal oleh tentera Presiden Bashar Assad. (Photo: AP A rebel fighter stands guard at a check point flying an Islamic banner near the frontline in the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Activists said on Saturday, July 13, 2013 that Syrian rebels and fighters from an al-Qaida-linked group have turned their guns on each other and are fighting for control of a key checkpoint in the northern city of Aleppo. The checkpoint is the only gateway between rebel-held eastern districts and the city's western areas, controlled by President Bashar Assad's troops.

Photo: AP Anggota tentera Syria menembak ke arah pejuang pemberontak semasa lawatan untuk wartawan yang dianjurkan oleh Kementerian Penerangan Syria di pinggir Damsyik Jobar, Syria, Ahad, 14 Julai, 2013. Tentera kerajaan melepaskan tembakan peluru kereta kebal dan meriam dalam pertempuran berat antara tentera Syria dan pemberontak Ahad di pinggir Damsyik, di mana tentera telah menolak serangan untuk merebut kembali daerah utama yang telah berada di tangan pembangkang untuk beberapa bulan. (Photo: AP Syrian army personnel shoot towards rebel fighters during a tour for journalists organized by the Syrian Information Ministry in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, Syria, Sunday, July 14, 2013. Government troops fired tank shells and artillery in heavy clashes between Syrian forces and rebels Sunday on the edge of Damascus, where the military has been pushing its offensive to retake key districts that have been in opposition hands for months.

Photo: AP Anggota tentera Syria menembak ke arah pejuang pemberontak semasa lawatan untuk wartawan yang dianjurkan oleh Kementerian Penerangan Syria di pinggir Damsyik Jobar, Syria, Ahad, 14 Julai, 2013. Tentera kerajaan melepaskan tembakan peluru kereta kebal dan meriam dalam pertempuran berat antara tentera Syria dan pemberontak Ahad di pinggir Damsyik, di mana tentera telah menolak serangan untuk merebut kembali daerah utama yang telah berada di tangan pembangkang untuk beberapa bulan. (Photo: AP Syrian army personnel shoot towards rebel fighters during a tour for journalists organized by the Syrian Information Ministry in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, Syria, Sunday, July 14, 2013. Government troops fired tank shells and artillery in heavy clashes between Syrian forces and rebels Sunday on the edge of Damascus, where the military has been pushing its offensive to retake key districts that have been in opposition hands for months.

Syrian troops advance against rebels in Damascus

Mid.East NEWS - DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Government troops fired tank shells and artillery in heavy clashes between Syrian forces and rebels Sunday on the edge of Damascus, where the military has been pushing its offensive to retake key districts that have been in opposition hands for months.

The Syrian army has seized the momentum in the civil war over the past three months, wresting back territory lost to rebel forces and solidifying its hold over contested areas, particularly on the fringes of Damascus. Two of the embattled districts are Jobar and Qaboun, from which rebels frequently launch mortar rounds on the heart of the capital.

A Syrian military commander said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have recaptured 60 percent of Jobar, south of Qaboun, and were trying to retake the rest. The commander talked to reporters Sunday during a military escorted tour of Jobar organized by the Information Ministry. His claim could not be independently verified.

An Associated Press reporter on the tour saw widespread destruction that pointed to heavy fighting in the neighborhood. Marble tile factories were destroyed. Reporters made their way in the devastated area by climbing through holes knocked in walls because of warnings of rebel snipers in the area.

At least two bodies, apparently those of rebel gunmen, lay on the floor of a bunker described by the official as a "terrorist" hideout. "The army is advancing rapidly in Jobar ... the area will be secured in the next few days according to a well-studied plan," the commander said. He declined to be named in line with regulations.

Jobar is near the road linking Damascus with its eastern suburbs known as Eastern Ghouta. Rebels have been using the road to transport weapons and other supplies to the capital, the seat of Assad's power.

The commander said the Jobar-Qaboun axis was important to "cleanse Ghouta from terrorist groups." Assad's government routinely describes the rebels fighting to overthrow him as terrorists playing out a foreign conspiracy hatched by Israel, the United States and some of its Arab allies in the region, like Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

During the tour of Jobar, reporters were taken to a hideout the army said it seized a day earlier after killing 30 rebels and their leader there. Reporters were shown RPG mortar rounds and explosive devices, as well as an alleged chemical material with a strong odor.

Arabic graffiti on the walls read: "The al-Tawhid Brigade," and "the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" — names of militant groups fighting to topple Assad. Sunday's tour came as Syria's main Western-backed opposition group claimed that 200 civilians were trapped in a mosque in Qaboun as fighting raged outside between rebels and Assad's army. It warned that thousands of civilians in Qaboun could be "massacred" by Assad's army as armored vehicles and elite forces move in.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said dozens of people were held captive Saturday by regime forces in the basement of the al-Omari mosque, but they were able to escape when clashes broke out between rebel and regime forces in the perimeter of the mosque, and the troops retreated.

It said 13 people, including seven fighters, died in the shelling of Qaboun Sunday. "They (troops) are using tanks and artillery and are trying to break into Qaboun. The shelling is very intense and there is a lot of smoke," said an activist in the area, speaking via Skype on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.

"This is day 26 of a bombing campaign, and they still haven't been able to break Qaboun," he said. Later Sunday, a powerful bomb explosion rocked the Deir Atiyeh town north of Damascus, killing and wounding a number of people, activists said. The bomb went off near a police station in a densely populated area, but most of the casualties were civilians, according to the Observatory and the Military Council for Damascus and its Suburbs, a rebel group.

In Washington, U.S. officials said Israel targeted advanced anti-ship cruise missiles near Syria's principal port city in an airstrike earlier this month, according to a report by The New York Times. It cited the officials as saying the attack on July 5 near Latakia targeted advanced Russian-made Yakhont missiles that Russia sold to Syria.

There was no immediate comment from Assad's government, whose key political ally and arms supplier is Russia. Asked about the reports on the CBS-TV show "Face the Nation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to confirm or deny Israeli involvement.

He insisted that he will not allow "dangerous weapons" to reach Lebanon's Hezbollah militants.

Halaby reported from Amman, Jordan. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.