Members of the Free Syrian Army use a video camera to record the scene outside, in the Old City of Aleppo yesterday.

Agencies/Paris


The main nations making up the Friends of Syria will meet on Saturday in Doha to discuss assistance for the Free Syrian Army following recent successes by government forces, a French foreign ministry official said.
The meeting will be attended by foreign ministers from the 11 countries making up the core of the pro-rebel alliance, including France, the US, Britain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official told reporters the meeting would be an opportunity to take stock of developments at this week’s G8 summit in Northern Ireland and discuss providing help to the rebels.
“We need to respond to the opposition’s need to rebalance power on the ground,” the official said.
The conference follows a high-level meeting in Ankara last week among the Friends of Syria during which Free Syrian Army commander Salim Idriss discussed the provision of military aid, including heavy weapons, the official said.
US President Barack Obama has authorised sending weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, an official in his administration said earlier this month.
Syria’s 27-month conflict appears to be reaching a turning point after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces captured Qusayr, in central Homs province near the Lebanese border, earlier this month.
Assad’s forces aim to retake Aleppo, where they have been mired in a bloody stalemate with rebels for nearly a year.
“The situation on the ground is urgent following the retaking of Qusayr and because of the threat to Aleppo as well as the suburbs of Damas and the southern part of the country,” the official said.
The main opposition bloc said yesterday it will fight on to topple Assad, and that any political solution to the conflict must lead to the fall of the regime.
The National Coalition’s statement comes after G8 leaders said they were “committed to achieving a political solution” to the Syrian conflict.
The Coalition also called on the UN to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces in rebel-held areas.
“The Syrian National Coalition is committed to any political solution that puts an end to the bloodshed, and achieves the Syrian people’s aspirations to bring down the Assad regime,” it said in a statement.
The group added it “reserves the right to use all means at its disposal” to bring Assad down, “chiefly military action”.
“The Assad regime has continuously killed civilians using ballistic missiles, chemical weapons and warplanes. It is the only source of terrorism in Syria.
“In order to achieve a lasting peace in Syria, efforts by all countries should be focused on fighting the regime alone.”
The opposition bloc meanwhile called on the UN to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
“The Coalition renews its invitation to the UN commission of enquiry to visit Syrian liberated (rebel-held) areas, in order to investigate... and confirm the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people,” it said.
The US, Britain and France have accused the Assad regime of using banned arms, including the nerve gas sarin, in attacks that have killed scores of people.
Damascus has repeatedly denied such accusations.
Troops and rebels were locked in fierce clashes last night outside the Damascus district of Qabun as the army tried to storm the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
At least two rebel fighters have been killed, with others wounded, the Britain-based group said.
“The district has come under continuous, heavy shelling over the last few hours, killing at least two civilians and wounding others,” the Observatory said.
The northeastern neighbourhood of the capital has been a battleground for months, with the military regularly targeting it with shells and air raids.
Meanwhile, near the capital, fighters from Lebanon’s Shia group Hezbollah joined troops in a push to cut off rebel supply lines.
And the National Coalition said it feared a “massacre” was imminent in southern Damascus, as Assad loyalists amassed around rebel areas there.