1613 GMT: Rebels Make "Rules of War" Videos.
Al Jazeera English reports that a non-government organization, Geneva Call, has helped the Syrian National Coalition to develop videos that spell out the codes of conduct for rebel fighters that explain the international standards that their fighters should follow:
1546 GMT: Rebels Reportedly Shoot Down Helicopter.
The LCC is reporting that a "warplane" delivering supplies to the Abu ad Duhor airbase has been shot down (map). "Warplane" is a strange linguistic feature unique to Syria, as it sometimes means "military helicopter" or "military airplane," but helicopters have often been used to supply this besieged air base at the intersection of Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo provinces. Furthermore, several sources are posting this video:
#Syria Video of regime helicopter being shot down near Abu ad-Duhur Military Airport: youtube.com/watch?v=KHem7I… CC @jmiller_ea
— Mads Dahl(@massdall) May 13, 2013
We don't believe we've seen this footage before, and the channel that posted the video is often used as an insurgent outlet, posting videos of fighting near the airbase. Some activists, however, are making even broader claims that several jets have also been shot down today:
#Syria 2 MIG warplanes & 1 helicopter shot down by rebels in #Idlib today
— Mark (@markito0171) May 13, 2013
We're still looking into those claims, but the base is surrounded by rebels, many of whom are positioned specifically to shoot down aircraft that are taking and landing from the base. We're reasonably confident that the helicopter video is real and was taken today at Abu ad Duhor, but we'll be more confident as we review other videos that have shown helicopters shot down in the past.
1528 GMT: Battle for Idlib.
Some keen-eyed readers have noted that there is what appears to be a Ferris Wheel in some of the videos from the battle for Idlib. That is what has been called the "Youth Camp" by Syrians (map), and it is across the street from a military base. Both the base and the camp are being occupied by Syrian tanks and soldiers, and the camp has been shut down for some time. It is also down the street from Neirab and the Brick Factory both of which are under siege.
Rebels shelling the Youth Camp:
A tank explodes inside the youth camp:
1434 GMT: War for Idlib Province.
Sometimes an event occurs in Syria that is a microcosm of an aspect of the entire conflict. This is what we are witnessing in Idlib province.
Last week, the rebels launched a concerted effort to assault the remaining Assad bases in north-central Idlib that surround the provincial capital. The offensive is called the "Retaliation of Banias," a campaign to avenge the sectarian deaths on the coast that are now very-conservatively estimated to be in the hundreds. The eventual goal of the campaign is to take Idlib city from the Assad regime. Rebel videos showed insurgents deploying heavy equipment, including tanks and artillery, that they have often kept away from the front lines for fear of Assad's aircraft. This appeared like it may have shaped up to be the largest rebel offensive in months.
So far, the fighting has been a microcosm of what we've seen elsewhere. Though the Assad regime in this area is largely surrounded, and does not benefit from the protection of massive and hardened bases like in Aleppo, Deir Ez Zor, or Damascus, rebel progress has been steady, but slow. Rebel tanks, artillery, and fortifications, have not yet been breached after days of intense bombardment. The rebel firepower is not strong enough to quickly break even a badly outnumbered Assad force in places where it is this well entrenched.
But that doesn't mean that things are going well for Assad. There are reports of several checkpoints and small villages having been captured by the rebels over the weekend, and several key Assad bases are taking heavy losses. Take this video, reportedly taken today at a brick factory that has been occupied by Assad forces south of Idlib (map). Several videos show the base under heavy mortar and tank attack. This video appears to show a tank exploding, its turrent blowing far up into the air as the ammunition inside the vehicle explodes:
Meanwhile, many of the surrounding towns and villages have been heavily bombed by Assad aircraft. While these aircraft have also been making bombing runs at rebels on the front lines of battle, most of their attacks over the last several days have been against civilians. The strategy, heavily used by the Assad regime on nearly every front, is to punish the civilians wherever the rebels are succeeding, creating a humanitarian crisis among the Syrian people that mirrors Assad's own military crisis. As long as the rebels keep pushing forward, that will only get worse, but until the rebels make a major breakthrough, their progress may be too slow to end this pattern any time soon.
1421 GMT: Death Toll Rising.
It's relatively early, and the death toll always increases as the day goes on, but so far 39 people have been killed nationwide, according to the Local Coordination Committees. Of that number, however, almost all the reported deaths have been in Damascus:
27 in Damascus and it's suburbs, 4 in Homs, 2 in Idlib, 2 in Hama, 2 in Aleppo, 1 in Daraa, 1 in Deir Ezzor.
So far, there is heavy fighting in southern Damascus, particularly in the Yarmouk refugee camp, where the regime is trying to break into the camp and clear it of insurgents who have been occupying the camp for many months.
Across the eastern districts, shelling and bombing has continued. Residents also claim that ballistic missiles or rocket artillery have hit East Ghouta. An extremely graphic video shows a home filled with blood and flesh, reportedly after it was hit by a rocket.
A note on the casualty figures published by the LCC.
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC) is an activist network operating both inside and outside of Syria. They claim to use stringent verification processes to ensure that a member of the LCC can vouch for any information posted either on their Facebook page or their website. The LCC also cooperates with an independent organization to populate database of those killed in the Syrian conflict, which can be seen at the website for the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria.
The LCC's casualty figures are often a mix of insurgents and civilians, and never include regime casualties. Syrian State Media has stopped reporting regime casualty figures.
Also see our description of the Local Coordination Committees and how we utilize their reports in the Columbia Journalism Review.
James Miller takes over today's live coverage. Thanks to Scott Lucas for getting us started this morning.
1140 GMT: Damascus Reacts to Saturday Bombings in Turkey
Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi has called Saturday's double car bomb in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli, which killed 46, a "terrorist act" while denying Syrian responsibility: "Any accusation against Syria in any statement, where explicit or implicit, by any Turkish official is completely rejected."
Al-Zoubi added that the Turkish Government was to blame because it turned the border areas into "international terrorist concentrations" and arranged the delivery of weapons, explosive devices, car bombs, money, and "killers" into Syria.
Al-Zoubi repeated the denial of responsibility, "We have problems with Turkey since hundreds of years, yet Syria…has never acted this way or done such an act. It's not because we can't, but because the way we were raised and our morals, conduct and values don't allow us to do such a thing."0520 GMT: Another Week of Stalemate?
The weekend was marked by the distinction between claims of advance by each side. Supporters of the insurgency asserted breakthroughs against regime airbases, while State media headlined the taking of "key towns".
Some Western outlets, looking for a story, played along. The Washington Post headlined, "Assad Forces Gaining Ground in Syria".
In fact, there was little significant movement on the ground --- the Post story was based on no more than vague statements by "analysts", and the claimed breakthroughs never materialised.
Instead, the ongoing narrative was of clashes, more refugees, and the steady if "normal" stream of casualties. The Local Coordination Committees reported 91 deaths on Sunday, including 33 in Damascus and its suburbs.
The Violations Documentation Center puts the confirmed death toll at 60,208 since the conflict begin in March 2011, an increase of 109 from Sunday. Of those killed, 47,137 were civilians, a rise of 62 from yesterday.