The conflict in Syria is intensifying as President Bashar al Assad's forces combat multiple fronts of resistance in the country's major urban areas. The regime's offensive in and around Damascus has now reached the city's suburbs, as al-Tel, Douma and al-Hajar al-Aswad are reportedly being targeted by artillery, helicopter gunships and fixed-wing aircraft strikes. Meanwhile, fighting continues in Aleppo with clashes in the central al-Jamaliya neighborhood, near the local headquarters of the ruling Baath Party. In Kalasseh, south of Aleppo, rebel forces set fire to a police station and are increasingly using captured or discarded regime armored vehicles in their operations. Determined not to lose the battle for Aleppo, the al Assad regime has dispatched significant reinforcements equipped with armor and artillery that are currently traveling from the Idlib governorate to Aleppo on the M5/M4 highway. With the Syrian military pulling thousands of troops out of Idlib, rebels will have a chance to capitalize on the region's diminished force by striking at the city of Idlib and major supply lines to the north.
