Syrian fighter jets, tanks, and artillery pounded rebel-held neighborhoods in the commercial hub of Aleppo this week, as aid workers warned of an impending humanitarian disaster in the sprawling city of 3 million people. The United Nations said that more than 200,000 residents had fled the city, which has become the focal point of the 18-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Those who remained were struggling to meet their basic needs. “There is no water or electricity in many areas,” said Abou Raed, an activist in Aleppo. Despite being outgunned, rebels said they had seized several regime bases inside Aleppo, and claimed that a growing number of government troops were defecting. “They can shell us from afar with tanks and helicopters,” said rebel commander Col. Abdel-Jabber Al-Oqaidi. “But inside their morale is zero.”
Assad is now “president in name only,” said David Blair in The Telegraph (U.K.). By launching a full-scale assault on the country’s largest city—until recently a regime stronghold—the dictator has proved that he’s clinging to power by force alone. Of course, “the core of his security forces can still be counted on to obey orders and defeat the rebels in pitched battles, but the clock is clearly ticking.” He might hold on for a few months, “but he cannot win.”
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