Israeli Intelligence Chief Says Syrian Capital Could Fall to Rebels
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Alessio Romenzi/AFP/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may not be able to hold onto Damascus much longer, Israel’s spy chief said on Tuesday.
Things are getting so desperate for al-Assad, Major General Aviv Kochavi told an Israeli parliamentary committee, that he’s been forced to remove soldiers from the Golan Heights region to shore up military defenses in the capital.
But despite an even more brutal crackdown on rebels by government forces, Kochavi claimed Syria’s “control of Damascus is getting weaker.”
While reports from the Syria’s news media seem to be downplaying the scene in Damascus, opposition activists contend that most of the fighting has been taking place in the southern part of the city.
The activists maintain it wasn’t their initial intention to take over Damascus but as fighting intensifies, they are willing to make al-Assad’s forces struggle to keep order in the streets.
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