Free Syrian Army Seeks No-Fly Zone, Vows to Reach Palace
clipped from article:
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Soldiers who left President Bashar al-Assad's army and set up an opposition force called for a no- fly zone and two buffer areas with international backing as they seek to topple the Syrian government.
The group wants a buffer zone in the north, on the Turkish- Syrian border, and another in the south near the border with Jordan to help them bring the fight closer to Assad, Riad al As'ad, a former Syrian colonel who leads the Free Syrian Army, said in a phone interview from Turkey today.
"Our operations are increasing and we will reach the presidential palace," As'ad said. "The regime is going to fall. It may take longer if there is no international foreign assistance, but it's not going to stay. It's finished."
The group, using rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, this week assaulted a base near the Syrian capital Damascus linked to air force intelligence, said Ammar al-Wawi, spokesman of the 10-member military council that heads the FSA. The Free Syrian Army also destroyed an armored personnel carrier at a base used by the intelligence agency in the city of Aleppo, he said. Air force intelligence has helped the government put down the protests.
Though no country has yet offered help to the Free Syrian Army, the group "welcomes all assistance," said As'ad, 50. He said he has a force of more than 25,000 who have been launching targeted attacks against security and intelligence units of the Assad government.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/11/18/bloomberg_articlesLUUY3Y6JTSE8.DTL#ixzz1e5aRWYn6
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