A fledgling force of Syrian military deserters said it struck an important government security complex on the outskirts of the capital overnight, a bold strike reflecting the resolve and confidence of the regime's opposition.
The assault came ahead of an Arab League meeting Wednesday to reaffirm a decision to suspend Syria's membership, a decision the group made over the weekend after President Bashar al-Assad's government failed to abide by a proposal to end a brutal crackdown on protesters.

Also Wednesday, France recalled its ambassador to Syria, the French Foreign Ministry said. The move followed attacks on French missions in Syria.
The defector group, called the Free Syrian Army, said it attacked an air intelligence base in Harasta and planted "powerful explosions inside and around the compound that shook its foundations."

Andrew Tabler, an expert on Syria at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said air intelligence has been deeply involved in the eight-month-long crackdown by the Syrian government against protesters, a grinding civil conflict that the United Nations says has left more than 3,500 people dead.
Tabler said the strike reflects the growing sophistication of the Free Syrian Army, which has brigades across the country and has been in existence since the summer.
"It opens up a new era of the conflict," he said, adding that the development represents "a bad direction" for the country. "Until now, most of the protests have been peaceful."

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bron: cnn (engels) - November 16, 2011

President Assad is er blijkbaar in geslaagd om onrust om te vormen in een mogelijke burgeroorlog. Met de recente democratisering van Libië ben ik er zeker van dat de Syrische opstandelingen nieuwe moed hebben gekregen. Na een beetje research te doen heb ik ondervonden dat Syrië na Libië het hoogste slachtoffers heeft geëist. Dit terwijl er in Syrië nog niet een echt groot conflict tussen de opstandelingen en de regering is ontstaan (buiten vandaag). Ik ben er van overtuigd dat Syrië het volgende Libië wordt. En dat net zoals Libië, de overwinning voor de opstandelingen zal zijn, al dan niet met de hulp van de Verenigde Naties.