Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: UN Talks, Damascus Fights
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 9:40 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1958 GMT: Syria. Defections have been occurring at a faster and faster pace, but today there were reports that a relative trickle, perhaps a hundred ot a few hundred soldiers every week, may have finnaly reached flood-stage, with unconfirmed reports that hundreds of fighters jumped ship.
There are reports that a single new brigade of Free Syrian Army soldiers, the "Unification Brigade" claiming to be made up of soldiers from many different backgrounds, contained more than 100 soldiers, all of whom appear to be heavily armed, and that those soldiers are also equipped with multiple vehicles armed with heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons.
Massive Brigade of the FSA formed in #Aleppo - "Unification Brigade" - youtube.com/watch?v=AGIky5… #Syria
— Sami al-Hamwi (@HamaEcho) July 18, 2012