Syrian opposition sources conveyed that forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad pounded the city of Homs with a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, over the last few hours, amid reports that at least 43 people were killed in clashes with government forces Sunday. The opposition said 29 people were killed in Homs, as a result of the bombing offensive by government forces on the city.
On its part, according to the Syrian news agency, "SANA", a gas pipeline was blown up in the province of Homs on Sunday evening. It blamed "an armed terrorist group" for the "sabotage" of the pipeline.
Internal rifts?
Meanwhile, Syrian opposition activist, Dr. Aisha Atta, has said that according to information she got from inside the presidential palace in Damascus, the Syrian regime has reached a state of internal collapse and loss of control of the situation.
In remarks to the Egyptian "Al-Ahram " newspaper published over the weekend, she said that" the information leaked by an intelligence officer in connection with the presidential palace indicated that Maher al-Assad, the brother of President Bashar al-Assad was backed away from for the leadership of military operations in the country. He was expelled to "Basil al-Assad military base," which is located in the vicinity of Kassioun outside the presidential. complex"
According to this information, since than Maher al-Assad suffers from severe depression. So far, Maher was considered a key figure in the brutal military operations to quell the uprising in the country. Note that with the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution, there were reports that Maher fired on Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara because the latter objected the crackdown on demonstrators in Dara'a, where he was born. Shara was injured and disappeared from the eyes of the public for a period.
According to the information, Bashar al-Assad and senior military leaders from the Alawite sect are the ones who are leading the military operations. It is expected that the regime will step up its operations in the coming period. According to Atta, Assad is currently arming all the people of the Alawite Qirdaha region, the birthplace of his father, Hafez Assad
