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Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

As Rebels Attack Elite Guards, Assad Talks of ‘State of War’

By Rod Nordland and Hwaida Saad

The Free Syrian Army launched what it described as an exploratory attack on an elite Republican Guard base, which is near the Presidential Palace, in Damascus late Monday

A surprise assault by lightly armed Syrian insurgents on a base housing the elite Republican Guard in Damascus, just a few miles from the Presidental Palace, elicited a furious military response on Tuesday, with government forces shelling surrounding neighborhoods in an escalation that brought combat in the Syrian conflict close to the heart of the capital.

Anti-government activists estimated at least 33 people were killed in the artillery barrages of the Damascus suburb of Qudssaya aimed at the Free Syrian Army insurgents, less than three miles northwest of President Bashar al-Assad’s official residence, and on Barzeh in northern Damascus, about three miles northeast.

President Assad, in remarks to his cabinet reported by the official SANA news agency, did not explicitly acknowledge the proximity of the fighting, but said “we live in a state of war.” As such, he said, “ all our policies, directives and all sectors will be directed in order to gain victory in this war.”
Previously he had characterized the 16-month-old uprising as a crime wave by foreign-backed terrorists.

In an apparently unrelated development, a  Syrian Air Force lieutenant general was kidnapped by armed men from his home in Damascus, according to Syrian State Television, who identified him as Lt. Gen. Farage Shihada al Maqat. He was abducted in the Al Adawi neighborhood of Damascus, an exclusive area where dignitaries and Russian advisers live. If the report is true, General Maqat would be the highest ranking officer to be kidnapped or killed since the uprising began. More than 13 generals are among a wave of high-ranking officers who have defected to the opposition recently….

“It was not a big confrontation, it was just to test the Guards’ capacity, for future attacks,” said the lieutenant, who for security reasons asked to be identified only by his rank. “Our fighters were really surprised by the huge forces that immediately came and encircled the area.”

As he put it, the incident proved that “one bullet in Damascus has more impact than a tank barrage in Idlib or Homs, because the regime doesn’t hear the bombings but for sure they hear the bullet in Damascus.”  Only 20 fighters with light weapons were involved, he said. “It was just a test for when the battle does move to Damascus.”

The elite Republican Guard Division has an estimated 8,000 or more soldiers and is devoted to protection of President Assad and his subordinates. The Republican Guard has taken the lead in suppressing dissent in the capital area.     Other opposition sources reported an escalation of the fighting in Damascus, mainly from government shelling focused on the neighborhoods or suburbs of Qudssaya, Dummar and Al Hameh,all to the northeast of the  Republican Guard base, which in turn adjoins the Presidential Palace, on a commanding hill 500 feet above the main city….