Rebels capture Syrian fighter jets

Updated February 13, 2013 08:24:37

Syrian rebels have overrun a military air base and captured warplanes in the northern province of Aleppo.

The rebels' advance came as the United Nations said the death toll from the 23-month conflict had hit nearly 70,000.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is opposed to the regime of president Bashar al-Assad, says the rebels captured a military airport at Al-Jarrah.

The Britain-based observatory says in the process the rebels seized a deployable fleet of warplanes, including MiG fighter jets.

It says the rebels killed, injured or imprisoned dozens of troops during the assault and surviving troops pulled out, leaving behind ammunition and warplanes.

The Observatory says soon afterwards, the air force used fighter jets to bombard the airport to try to dislodge rebels.

Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a military source in Aleppo confirmed the rebel capture "after 48 hours of fierce combat", but downplayed the importance of Al-Jarrah.

"It is a very small airport, used for training purposes," he said.

"There are only small amounts of unusable ammunition left there, and several planes that have long been out of action."

Activists meanwhile reported the launch of rebel offensives on the Aleppo international airport and Nayrab military airport nearby, although the military source denied any such assaults.

The Observatory also reported a rebel capture of the main road linking Aleppo province to neighbouring Raqa and parts of a military base tasked with securing the area's airports.

Activists in Aleppo have told AFP that fighters in the north have shifted their focus from city battles to the capture of military airports and bases.

"They are important because they are an instant source of ammunition and supplies, and because their capture means putting out of action the warplanes used to bombard us," Aleppo-based activist Abu Hisham told AFP via the internet.

Mr Assad has called for "collective action" by the state and Syrian people to limit the effects of the crisis.

The Syrian president also accused "groups that target Syria" of trying to destroy the country's infrastructure.

The conflict has killed nearly 70,000 people since it erupted in March 2011.

UN rights chief Navi Pillay has condemned the violence, and also hit out at the inaction of the UN Security Council, where China and Russia have used veto powers to block three resolutions that would have threatened sanctions against Mr Assad's regime.

"We will be judged against the tragedy that has unfolded before our eyes. This council, as well of those of us in key positions within the UN, will be rightly asked what we did," she said.

Her comments came after UN chief Ban Ki-Moon said the Security Council "must no longer stand on the sidelines, deadlocked, silently witnessing the slaughter".


Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, syrian-arab-republic

First posted February 13, 2013 07:11:45