Revolutions don’t succeed until the capital starts wavering. Bashar al-Assad knows this and has, so far, managed to assert his authority over Damascus and Syria’s second city, Aleppo. That much was true until earlier this week when rebels launched a massive assault on both cities, coinciding with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Buoyed by a suicide bombing which killed four members of Assad’s inner circle last week, we are now into the heaviest period of fighting inside Syria’s main cities. Assad has managed to maintain some calm in Damascus, but parts of Aleppo have now fallen into rebel control.
Khaled Habous, head of the Damascus military council of the Free Syrian Army, struck a bullish tone about the FSA’s prospects in a recent interview. ‘Before the end of this holy month of Ramadan it will be over,’ he said.
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