Rebels Level Aleppo Hotel Turned Army Base
AFP reports that Syrian rebels have “completely flattened” Aleppo’s famed luxury Carlton Citadel Hotel in the city’s historic center, which had in recent months been serving as an Assad army base.
The fighters “tunneled under the front line that divides the northern city. State television gave no word on any casualties. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were dead and wounded among government troops occupying the building.”
The explosion, which took place across the road from the UNESCO-listed Citadel, “was caused by explosives planted by Islamist battalions in a tunnel beneath the Carlton Hotel, which was occupied by regime troops,” the Observatory said, while Syrian state television said the hotel, “which opened not long before the uprising erupted in March 2011 in a renovated 19th century hospital building, was completely flattened.”
Syrian Rebels Depart Homs District Under Deal
The New York Times reports that “the last insurgent-held neighborhoods of the Old City appeared to be falling” Wednesday to Assad’s government as the last rebel fighters and their families began to evacuate the city.
“The government seeks to prove that through brute force and local talks, it can retake a major urban area,” writes Anne Barnard. “For its opponents, handing over enclaves that withstood a nearly two-year blockade is an emotional blow.”
Homs was one of the first cities to protest against the Assad government in 2011; it has long stood as a “bellwether for a nation slowly, brutally unraveling. A diverse community increasingly split along sectarian lines as populations fled, neighborhoods were destroyed and rebels held out in the Old City.” But the deal that allowed the fighters to leave this week “was less than a full victory for the government, or a complete defeat for the rebels. The fighters were allowed to flee with light weapons to a safe haven where they vowed to continue the battle. The deal did little to head off the fragmentation of the country.”
Syrian Opposition Asks for Weapons Needed to Battle Assad
The AP reports that Syrian National Coalition president Ahmad Jarba says opposition forces “need weapons that could ‘neutralize’ aerial raids by Assad’s air force in order to change the balance of power on the ground and pave the way for a political solution to the crisis.”
“Rebels have been asking the U.S. for lethal aid for some time, but the Obama administration has refused, fearing it could fall into the hands of terrorists and other militants who have joined the battle but remain outside the opposition forces.
“Al-Jarba, who plans to meet with President Barack Obama during his visit and meets with Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, said the Syrian people do not want the U.S. or other countries to send troops or warships, but that opposition forces need weapons that could effectively ‘neutralize the air force.’”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg Businessweek says Jarba’s Wednesday request “poses a challenge for the Obama administration, which has been hesitant to provide weapons – particularly those such as portable anti-aircraft missiles – that may fall into the hands of Islamic radicals with ties to al-Qaida who are also fighting Assad.”
U.N. May Refer Syria Conflict to War Crimes Court
The New York Times reports that France has drafted a Security Council resolution “that seeks to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, tailoring it specifically to address American sensitivities.”
Addressing American concerns, the draft text, which stands to be circulated to all 15 members of the Council next week, defines Syria’s conflict “narrowly,” only including the Syrian government and its allied militias, along with the armed opposition.
“The second way in which it addresses American concerns is that it exempts ‘current or former officials or personnel’ of countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute – except Syria. That way, if American soldiers are ever involved in the Syrian conflict, they would be immune from prosecution. While Russia may veto the measure, getting the United States on board to back such a resolution, which France has pushed for over the last several weeks, would serve to publicly isolate the Kremlin in the face of grave human rights abuses.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team
NPR: A Symbol of Uprising, Homs Reverts to Assad’s Control
WSJ: One U.S. Backed-Rebel Group Cooperates With al-Qaeda in Syria