It’s hard to know how the conflict in Syria could be classed as anything other than a civil war. Yesterday, the International Committee of the Red Cross finally agreed and branded it such. Their announcement follows the Tremseh massacre last week and some of the heaviest fighting in Damascus since the conflict began – a development invested with huge significance because of the premium Assad has placed on maintaining calm in the capital.
It all reflects the gains being made by the Free Syrian Army. So far, the Red Cross has only regarded Homs, Hama, and Idlib as active war zones but this overlooks gains being made by the FSA elsewhere.
The FSA now controls areas just north of Damascus including Zamalka and Irbeen, and controls most of the Idlib Governorate, the North-Western province of Syria bordering Turkey. These territories all stretch north of Damascus, along the Western edge of Syria where most of the fighting has been concentrated.
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