Islamist Rebels Seize First Coastal Village in Northern Syria

Reuters reports that for the first time, rebels have taken control of a village on Syria’s coast, seizing the Armenian Christian village of Kasab.

“Video footage showed six fighters holding the black banner of the Ansar al-Sham brigade on a rocky beach, a symbolic rebel victory in the coastal province of Latakia that has been an Assad stronghold throughout three years of conflict,” the wire says.

“This is the first area of coast in Syria to be liberated,” said one activist, referring to the nearby village of Samra and its neighboring beach.

“Latakia and neighbouring Tartous provinces together form the Mediterranean heartland of Assad’s minority Alawite faith and have remained loyal to him as he battles mainly Sunni Muslim rebels in a civil war which has killed more than 140,000 people. After months of setbacks in central Syria, Islamist rebels launched an offensive on Friday into the Latakia region, taking the border crossing and the village of Kasab.”

U.S. Officials Say al-Qaida Militants Seek Syria Base

The New York Times reports that dozens of “seasoned militant fighters” have traveled from Pakistan to Syria in recent months, looking to establish what U.S. officials say is a base of terrorist operation in the country for al-Qaida, which could be looking to plan attacks on the West.

“We are concerned about the use of Syrian territory by the al-Qaida organization to recruit individuals and develop the capability to be able not just to carry out attacks inside of Syria, but also to use Syria as a launching pad,” CIA director John O. Brennan said recently.

“Syria is an appealing base for these operatives because it offers them the relative sanctuary of extremist-held havens [and] ready access to about 1,200 American and European Muslims who have gone there to fight and could be potential recruits to carry out attacks when they return home.”

Polio Outbreak in Syria Threatens Region

The BBC reports that as a hot summer approaches, health experts are concerned that polio could spread across the Middle East from Syria, where more than 100 children now show symptoms.

“In the back of a car parked outside a Turkish hospital, the shy woman in a long pink velvet dress starts sobbing as she talks about her baby, being treated in an isolation ward inside. ‘He started to get really sick. I tried to make him stand and use his feet, but it was quite impossible,’ she says. ‘Now he can’t move them any more.’

“Muhammad, aged five months, her only son, has just been diagnosed with polio. One of the most contagious and feared diseases of the 20th century, it has paralyzed thousands of children. A global vaccination campaign eradicated it almost everywhere, including in Syria, where Muhammad comes from. But now, because of the war there, it’s back, sparking panic across the Middle East, and despair in Muhammad’s family.”

Syrian Refugee Self-Immolates in Protest

A Syrian woman living in Lebanon with her three children lit herself on fire in front of the U.N. agency office in Tripoli in protest of what she called the country’s poor treatment of refugees.

“The woman, who locals identified as Mariam Abdelkader, screamed out into the crowd that she was there for a third day waiting in line for some help for her family of at least three children, according to accounts by aid workers in Tripoli and local news reports. She then pulled out a small plastic bottle from beneath her black robe, poured an inflammable liquid over her head, and lit herself with a lighter,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The incident, an extreme outcry of a more common complaint among Syrian refugees, stunned those gathered. Some scrambled to remove pieces of clothing and pat her down; others doused her with water. She is recovering from major burns across her face and body at a hospital in Tripoli.”

There are more than 1 million Syrians living in Lebanon. Many feel that the international aid effort there is severely lacking.

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team

Guardian: The Syrian Conflict Has Lethal Momentum

TIME: Syria’s Latest Victim: International Law

AFP: Arab Summit Calls for Political Solution in Syria

Reuters: U.S. Says Syria Government Mostly to Blame for Hindered Aid