Syrian rebels take Taftanaz airbase in key FSA advance

Taftanaz has been the scene of intense fighting for weeks Damascus – Arabstoday Another day of heavy fighting across Syria saw rebel forces make important headway against the regime's military, while United Nations peace envoy officials met with US and Russian official looked on, assuring a “political solution” will still be reached, bringing an end to the conflict.
In Idlib province in northern Syria, rebels overran the coveted Taftanaz military airbase on Friday, a watchdog confirmed, as part of a significant advance in the region.
Free Syrian Army [FSA] forces led by jihadi militants such as the al-Nusra Front, reputedly linked to al-Qaeda, have fought a long and bitter battle against government forces belonging to President Bashar al-Assad who, until this morning, had control of Taftanaz. The base housed up to 60 helicopters and represented a key strategic objective in FSA advances.
"The fighting at Taftanaz military airport ended at 1100 hrs [0900 GMT] and the base is entirely in rebel hands," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [SOHR] Director Rami Abdel Rahman.
The conflict’s characteristic media war continued after the skirmish.
Broadcasters al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya confirmed militants had taken control of the Taftanaz airfield.
Damascus meanwhile denied reports. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency [SANA] alleged that troops repelled the attack, inflicting severe damage to rebel ranks and equipment, causing the FSA to flee the base.
Following the taking of the base by the FSA, it was raided by government jets, the UK-based SOHR said.
"Warplanes are bombing Taftanaz military airport in an attempt to destroy it," a statement said.
Capturing the base is an important gain for the rebels who now control vast swathes of Syria's north and east regions and are battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces in most major cities as well as on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.
"This is the largest airbase to be seized since the revolt began" nearly 22 months ago, Abdel Rahman told international media.
In previous months, the rebels have taken control of the Hamdan airport in Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border in the east, and the Marj al-Sultan military airport in Damascus province.
Many soldiers and officers fled the base at dawn, while the total number of casualties was not yet known.
The rebels seized several military vehicles and a major weapons cache.
But government forces managed to evacuate most of the 60 helicopters deployed there, leaving behind 20 that are no longer serviceable, the Observatory said.
Meanwhile Damascus also witnessed heavy fighting on Friday as regime military forces reportedly launched an air strike. Heavy mortar shelling was also reported on the outskirts of the city’s Tishreen neighbourhood. The total casualties had not yet been confirmed.
The news came as UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and US Undersecretary of State William Burns in Geneva.
After more than five hours of talks, Brahimi expressed an urgent need to end the conflict, but reported no major progress.
"We all stressed the need for a speedy end to the bloodshed and the destruction and all forms of violence in Syria," he told reporters.
There had been some hope that Friday's talks could produce a clearer idea of how to move towards a transitional government in Syria, where the UN estimates more than 60,000 people have died since the March 2011 outbreak of the revolt.
Despite wintry conditions, thousands of Syrians stages nationwide Friday demonstrations denouncing "death camps" -- referring to refugees suffering in tent settlements in neighbouring states, which this week were hit by unprecedented winter storms.
The UN said 612,134 Syrians had been registered as refugees in the region or were in the process of being registered, a sharp rise from the 509,550 announced on December 11.
"They left with their wives and children fearing kidnappings, bombings and snipers. They dreamed of a tent safely away from the gangs of Assad, but instead were met with a slow death," activists wrote on the Facebook page Syrian Revolution 2011.
In the central province of Hama, protesters carried a sign that read: "Bashar, even if you offered us the sun and the moon, we will not give up our revolution!"
Source: AFP