News / Middle East
Syria Rebels Appear to Make Big Weapons Seizure
In
this screen grab from a video posted to You Tube by Syrian activists,
rebels who claim to have captured a government arm depot show crates
rockets and other arms. 
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March 17, 2013
Syrian rebels appear to have seized a large number of weapons from a government arms depot near the northern city of Aleppo.
Activists posted several videos to YouTube on Saturday and Sunday
showing crates of weapons and ammunition they say were seized from the
arms depot in the town of Khan Toman.
In one video, Islamist rebels loaded dozens of the crates onto a truck. In another, rebels inspected the interior of a seized building containing crates of rockets and other arms.
There was no independent confirmation of the rebel seizure of the arms
depot. Other activist videos posted on YouTube in recent days appeared
to show rebels trying to seize the compound.
Rebels fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have seized
large areas of northern and eastern Syria in recent months, including
parts of Aleppo and the towns surrounding Syria's commercial capital.
But Assad's forces remain in control of central Aleppo, his power base
in Damascus and western regions dominated by his Alawite sect.
Syrian rebels have long complained about having inferior firepower
compared to government tanks, warplanes and rockets supplied by Assad
allies such as Russia. The opposition fighters frequently appeal to
Western powers and their Arab partners to send them weapons to even the
scale.
The exiled opposition Syrian National Coalition is preparing to vote
for a prime minister to manage rebel-held parts of Syria. Opposition
figures said Sunday the vote is likely to be held in Istanbul on Monday
and Tuesday.
Favorites for the position include economist Osama Kadi, businessman
Ghassan Hitto and former Syrian agriculture minister Assad Asheq
Mustafa.
Kadi is the founder of the Washington-based research group Syrian
Center for Political and Strategic Studies. Hitto has worked as a
communications executive in the southern U.S. state of Texas. Mustafa
appears to be the only major contender with experience of serving as a
Syrian minister under the Assad family before defecting to the
opposition.
The Syrian National Coalition hopes forming a rebel government will help bring order to communities freed from Assad's control.
Some opposition figures have criticized the group's decision to choose a
prime minister, saying it should instead form an executive body to run
rebel affairs or agree to a transitional government that includes
members of Assad's administration.
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