Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — The regime of President Bashar Assad, amid its onslaught of
Sunni rebels, appears to be losing control over northern Syria.

Opposition sources said Assad’s military and security forces were
disappearing from most of northern Syria. They said rebel elements,
including those linked to the Free Syrian Army, have taken
over large parts of the countryside in northern provinces near the borders
with Iraq and Turkey.

“The regime is focusing on maintaining control over central and western
Syria and does not have the manpower to control the north,” an opposition
source said.

[On March 8, the first senior member of the Assad regime announced his
defection. Syrian Deputy Oil Minister Abdul Hussam Eddin, in a video message
posted on YouTube, said he would join the revolt against Assad. “I am
joining the revolution of the people who reject injustice and the brutal
campaign of the regime,” Eddin said.]

As a result, the sources said, the regime appears to yielding to rebel
elements even in Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria and throughout
2011 loyal to Assad. They said suburbs of Aleppo, regarded as
the business capital of Syria, were being taken over by the rebels.

“In particular, the poorer towns of Azaz, Hreitan, and Anadan, which are
on the road to Turkey, have been taken over by opposition groups,” a Syrian
source told the Syria Comment blog.

The source, who lives in Aleppo, said bloody clashes took place between
Assad forces and residents in late February. The source said neighborhoods
throughout Syria were no longer cooperating with the regime.

“Although the government has retaken Homs, it is losing Aleppo and the
broader north, an area that has long been fertile ground for Islamist
currents,” Syria Comment said.

The sources said the frequent clashes between the rebels and Syrian
troops have stopped civilians from driving in the north, particularly near
the Turkish border. The absence of police has also sparked robberies and
other crime throughout the Aleppo region.

Turkey has served as the haven for the Free Syrian Army as well other
rebel groups. The sources said FSA was smuggling weapons and equipment into
northern Syria without resistance.

Still, the Syrian Army retains control over parts of the north. On March
3, more than 40 Syrian soldiers who tried to desert from an Army unit in the
Idlib province were captured and executed, opposition sources said.

On March 7, the Syrian Army was reported to have moved additional troops
north toward Idlib. Reports from Idlib spoke of Syrian Army operations near the Turkish
border.

The sources said pro-Assad figures around Aleppo and other northern
cities were being targeted by the rebels. They said middle- and high-income
Syrians, fearing abduction and extortion, were seeking to escape to Lebanon.

The Syrian military has been deploying armed helicopters in attacks on
suspected rebel strongholds. The sources said Russian-origin Mi-24
helicopters were firing air-to-ground missiles in towns around Aleppo.

“The ability of the government to supply basic goods and services has
crumbled,” the Aleppo resident wrote. “Now security is evaporating. More and
more Syrians realize that the state is losing control and are taking matters
into their own hands.”

  Aleppo, Bashar Assad, deserters executed, Free Syrian Army, Homs, Idlib, northern Syria near Turkey, northern Syria near Turkish border, Oil Minister defection, Reports Assad forces withdrawing from Aleppo