Activists say Syrian rebels have captured parts of a large army base in the country's north, just west of the city of Aleppo.
According to a rebel, "the arms of the army base were confiscated, including 57 and 23 caliber cannon and light weapons."
The
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the rebels
entered the Sheik Suleiman base on Sunday afternoon, after weeks of
fighting.
The development indicates the rebels are
strengthening their grip on northern areas near the Turkish border. Last
month, they captured another large base near Aleppo.
The
Observatory says the rebels seized a key sector of the base. Amateur
videos released by activists showed gunmen walking inside the base,
carrying a jihadist black Islamic flag.
Earlier, the Syrian military carried out an air strike on a suburb of the capital
as rebels clashed with soldiers around the Damascus region on Monday, a
monitoring group said.
The Britain-based group said the air force also overflew Eastern Ghouta, an
area where rebels have set up rear bases amid its orchards, it said.
The Observatory also reported clashes and bombardment in the northern
province of Aleppo, the central region of Homs and Deir Ezzor to the east where
at least one rebel was killed.
Positions:
Russia said on Monday it opposed
any setting of preconditions for talks between the Syrian government and its
enemies, and that plans for the country's political future cannot be forced on
it from outside.
The Foreign Ministry repeated calls for an
end to fighting and start of talks between the Syrian government and opposition
but said Russia rejected "attempts to force prepared recipes for
socio-political development" on the Middle Eastern nation.
This as, the
27 EU foreign ministers convene today and are expected to discuss during their meeting the crisis in Syria.
In this context, British Foreign Minister William Hague said foreign ministers would be briefed by Mouaz al-Khatib, the new head of the Western-backed opposition coalition in Syria.
Hard-line Islamist groups in the country have not joined the new coalition, however, and al-Khatib is expected to inform the EU ministers about attempts to unify the Syrian opposition. The coalition is seeking greater international recognition. The EU does not offer formal diplomatic recognition that is left to the individual member countries but it has said that the coalition is a legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
Hague added that the ministers will discuss as well “the urgent need to restart the peace process in the Middle East”.
Separately, Germany has expelled four employees of the Syrian embassy in Berlin in a diplomatic move to put pressure on the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Monday the expulsion of the four, whose identities weren't released, sends a "clear sign that we are reducing relations with the Assad government to an absolute minimum."
Westerwelle says Germany hopes the newly formed opposition National Coalition will be able to form an effective transitional body as soon as possible.
REUTERS/LBCI/AP
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