Syria opposition: Chief visits Latakia

Syria's exiled opposition chief Ahmad Jarba visited Latakia provinceTuesday, amid a rebel offensive against the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad'sclan and his Alawite sect, his office said."The president of the Syrian National Coalition Ahmad Jarba visited the JabalTurkman... and Jabal Akrad" areas of Latakia, theopposition chief's office said in anemail.Both Jabal Akrad and Jabal Turkman have been under opposition control for many months, but all the rest of coastal Latakia province has until recently been squarelyunder regime control.Then, some 10 days ago, rebels launched a major offensive and overran severalgovernment positions, mainly Kasab on the border with Turkey, taking over afrontier crossing.Amateur video distributed by the Syrian Revolution General Commission, a networkof activists on the ground, showed Jarba seated with what appeared to be local rebel commanders in a house that was said to be in Latakia province.He did not speak in the video.But rebel commander Malek al-Kurdi spoke on behalf of the operations room forLatakia: "We have hope in this meeting that we are in a historic moment... of thebeginning of the final phase of our liberation in the coast and in the whole of Syria from Bashar al-Assad's regime."According to Jarba's office, his visit was "to the people and the fighters... and to all the fronts in Jabal Turkman, from Kasab and Al-Sawda, to all the areas surroundingObservatory 45".The visit comes a day after Syrian state television said the army recapturedObservatory 45, a strategic hilltop -- a claim contested by activists and the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights.The Britain-based Observatory on Tuesday said clashes have continued to rage overthe hilltop.Jarba's office also said the opposition chief held meetings with members of the rebeloperations room for Latakia, and that he stressed "the need for real support" for theopposition fighters in the province.Jarba also said "the Coalition has provided assistance to (fighters on) the front",according to his office.The visit comes a day after opposition forces fired Grad rockets at the Bassel al-Assad airport for the first time.The civilian facility is named for a deceased brother of the president and is near thetown of Qardaha, the Assad clan's ancestral home.According to the Observatory, neither the army nor the rebels made any freshadvances Tuesday.More than 300 fighters on both sides have been killed in the clashes there.Syria's conflict is now in its fourth year. It has killed more than 150,000 people.