A Mediterranean Battlefield - Syria

[Magda Hassan]

Coming and going....

Syria rebels 'control all Iraq border points'
(AFP) 14 hours ago BAGHDAD Syrian rebels took control of all border crossings between Iraq and Syria on Thursday, Baghdad's deputy interior minister told AFP."All the border points between Iraq and Syria are under the control of the Free Syrian Army," Adnan al-Assadi told AFP by telephone."The border points and all the outposts are under the control of the Free Syrian Army."The Syrian army are focusing on Damascus."Assadi also said there was fighting under way between the Syrian army and rebels across the border from the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar.The top official said Iraqi border guards had witnessed the Free Syrian Army take control of a border outpost, detain a Syrian army lieutenant colonel, and then cut off his arms and legs."Then they executed 22 Syrian soldiers in front of the eyes of Iraqi soldiers."The account of the killings could not be independently verified.Assadi added: "If this situation continues, we are going to close the entire border with Syria."Earlier, an Iraqi border police lieutenant colonel told AFP that clashes began at noon at the Albu Kamal crossing in Anbar province.""And then in the evening, we saw the Syrian flag being brought down and the flag of the Free Syrian Army replaced it," he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity."We saw people wearing dishdashas (traditional Arab robes) and holding guns and they were walking inside the border post. We closed the border and we sent more patrols and more checkpoints along all the border with Syria."Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh meanwhile told Iraqiya state television that four planeloads of Iraqis had been flown from Syria back to Iraq on Thursday.Also on Thursday, officials in western Anbar province, which borders Syria, said thousands of Iraqi families crossed from Syria back into their home country after Baghdad appealed for them to return to avoid escalating violence in Iraq's western neighbour.Anbar provincial council chief Saadun Obeid Shaalan said provincial authorities had provided Iraqis crossing the border with "humanitarian aid and 60 buses have entered Iraq, carrying Iraqis emigrating from Syria."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/art...bf6266.391

Syrian forces recapture areas across the country from rebels

BY ADMIN â‹… JULY 19, 2012 â‹…
PressTV
Thu Jul 19, 2012 Syrian security forces have recaptured a number of areas across the country from armed anti-government rebels, Press TV reports.The forces retook control of the al-Midan neighborhood in Damascus and the Silqin area in Idlib.They also managed to recapture the al-Bukamal area near the Iraqi border as well as Bab al-Hawa close to the Turkish border.Syria has been experiencing unrest ever since March 2011, with demonstrations being held both against and in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government.The Syrian government says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings.Damascus also says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country and the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians.
http://declanoshea.net/2012/07/19/syrian...om-rebels/