SYRIA: The Weekly Scoop Volume 4, Issue 3 | Page 4

By Bree Rigberg

On March 26 2014, Syria started to attack deeper within the coast battling government troops using warplanes in order to take over two small villages.

Opposing fighters from Islamic groups started to attack on Friday, March 28 2014, in Latakia along the Turkish border. They have stopped border crossing and they have power over the opening to the sea for the first time since Syria gained power three years ago.

Because of some gains in the territory, there has been some setbacks on battlefield. Assad’s forces have captured towns and villages along Syria’s border with Lebanon, gaining materials across the frontier and rebel fighters.

Syria Battles with Coastal Province

Mohammed Abu al-Hassan, a Latakia activist, says that “Rebels were hoping that the offensive in Latakia would draw more Syrian soldiers to the area, relieving some of the pressure on harried opposition fighters elsewhere in the country.”

That Wednesday night, rebels attacked government troops in Latakia villages of Qastal Maaf and Naabin. Syrian military jets started attacking conflicting fighters, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syria's Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the U.N. Secretary General on Wednesday blaming Turkey of using its tanks and weapons to support the attack against Kassab. The letter proposed the Security Council to criticize Ankara's "flagrant aggression" against Syria. The Turkish Foreign Ministry disapproved.

Turkey is now one of Syria’s strongest supporters. Ankara has given promission freedom to the frontier but, there is no proof of direct Turkish involvement inside Syria.

This conflict in Syria has killed more than 140,000 people which removed at least a quarter of it’s pre-war population of 23 million leading to a huge problem for this region.