Jihadists seize key north Syria army base

DARRET EZZA—Jihadists have seized a strategic army base in northern Syria, a watchdog said, as the European Union piled more pressure on President Bashar al-Assad by recognizing the opposition coalition as “legitimate representatives” of the people.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported clashes in a northern Damascus district, the fiercest in the area since a revolt against Assad broke out in March 2001.

The European Union gave a vital boost to the newly-formed Syrian opposition coalition, describing them as the “legitimate representatives of the Syrian people” following talks in Brussels with its leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.

The EU, winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said at the award ceremony in Oslo that the 21-month conflict in Syria, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, must be addressed.

“Let me say it from here today. The current situation in Syria is a stain on the world’s conscience and the international community has a moral duty to address it,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The European Commission also announced it would provide another 30 million euros ($39 million) in humanitarian aid to help people affected by the Syrian violence, bringing its total contribution to some 126 million euros.

The Independent newspaper Tuesday said Britain and other key international players are actively drawing up plans to train Syrian rebel fighters and back them with air and naval support.

General David Richards, the head of Britain’s armed forces, held talks recently in London with military leaders from France, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, and a US general, according to a report on the newspaper’s website.

During the meeting, which was organized at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron, the military chiefs are believed to have held detailed strategic discussions about how to help rebels.

Britain, France and the US have pledged not to put “boots on the ground” to help the rebels, meaning Turkey would most likely host the training camps.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) would not confirm the report.

“We want to see a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria that leads to an end to the violence and a process of genuine political transition,” said a MOD spokesperson.

“In the absence of a political and diplomatic solution, we will not rule out any option in accordance with international law that might save innocent lives in Syria.”

The capture by the Al-Nusra Front and allied jihadist groups of the base at Sheikh Suleiman dealt a significant blow to Assad’s regime as it had been the last major military base west of Aleppo city still under army control.

But it also undercut the military influence of the mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

An AFP journalist who covered the clashes around Sheikh Suleiman said many fighters were from other Arab countries and Central Asia.

“We control the whole base, all the zone is under our control. The whole region west of Aleppo up to the Turkish border has now been liberated. But no chemical weapons were found, or anti-aircraft missiles,” said a rebel chief, Abu Jalal.

He headed the only unit of the mainstream rebel FSA which took part in the operation.

Also on Monday, the Syrian army used warplanes and tanks to bombard rebel positions in Damascus province and violent clashes broke out in the north of the capital, the Observatory said.

Violence in Damascus has previously been focused on southern districts.

At least 64 people, among them 19 civilians, 26 soldiers and 19 rebels, were killed in violence across Syria on Monday, said the Observatory, which relies on activists and medics for its information.

The latest violence came two days ahead of a Friends of Syria nations meeting in Marrakesh, bringing together countries which support the anti-Assad revolt.

Arab and Western states will consider two key issues concerning the conflict—the political transition in the event of Assad’s fall, and mobilising vital humanitarian aid as winter sets in.

Since the last meeting, in Paris in July, the number of people killed has risen from 16,000 to more than 42,000, according to the Observatory.

Meanwhile, a diplomatic source in Ankara said that US-made Patriot missiles will not be deployed right at Turkey’s volatile border with Syria but rather a short distance away, in a bid to reassure Russia.