Syria Live Coverage: The Fight in Daraa Province

Fighting in Daraa city on Tuesday

See also Syria Analysis: Someone is Arming the Insurgents...and It's Working
Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: France to Withdraw in March After Successful Military Operations?
Tuesday's Syria Live Coverage: Minister of Defense "We Cannot Be Broken"

---

2200 GMT: Intense Fight in Damascus. Today's fighting near Jobar in northeast Damascus was intense. At the height of the battle, incoming artillery and mortar shells lit large parts of the city on fire, however, it is unclear who was firing what. What we do know is that by nightfall there was still fighting in parts of Damascus, and the battle lines, at least for the moment, have changed considerably.

A Syrian microblogger has collected dozens of videos of the fighting in a post. This video reportedly shows the early stages of the battle for the the Harmala checkpoint:

="0" allowfullscreen>

Click to read more ...

Syria Live Coverage: Regime Warplanes Strike in Damascus for 1st Time

2104 GMT: A micro-blogger has collected a series of videos from the FSA offensive against Halfaya, north of Hama city (map). The city is under heavy rebel attack, as the Free Syrian Army and other units are stretching the front lines to the south. After weeks of ambushes, IED attacks, and generally picking at Assad's supply lines, it appears that the insurgents have moved into Hama province with a vengeance. If this kind of momentum can be sustained over the next few days, it could signal a further Assad military collapse, but this one just kilometers from one of the most important cities in Syria:

#Syria #Hama Rebels destroyed officers club & surround National Hospital in city of #Helfaia which is under occupation youtube.com/watch?v=dEMBOn…

— Mark (@markito0171) December 17, 2012

#Syria #Hama Rebels in #Helfaia seized T-72 tankyoutube.com/watch?v=3dWzKw… wikimapia.org/#lat=35.259858…

— Mark (@markito0171) December 17, 2012

Click to read more ...