Rebels in Syria Now Using Tanks Against Military - East Idaho News
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Rebels in Syria Now Using Tanks Against Military

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GETTY W 073112 SyrianRebels?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1343983102367Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — The use of heavy artillery by rebel forces could be a game-changer in Syria.

There were reports Thursday that members of the Free Syrian Army launched a tank attack on the government’s Minakh base near the border with Turkey.

If true, this would mark perhaps the first time rebels have had major weaponry at their disposal, a sign that the Syrian army may be losing the advantage it has held since the start of the 17-month-long conflict responsible for over 20,000 deaths.

While the Minakh base remains in the government’s hands, a rebel takeover would not only prevent the army from launching helicopter attacks on rebel targets in nearby Aleppo, but give foreign countries sympathetic to the dissidents the opportunity to fly in supplies.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and its commercial hub, has endured two weeks of fercious battles with neither side giving ground and a humanitarian crisis mounting as tens of thousand of civilians have fled to avoid the violence.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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