Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — Sunni rebels have launched an uncoordinated drive to
capture the retreat of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Opposition sources said several Sunni militias have targeted the coastal
city of Latakia, the home of Assad and leading members of the Alawite
regime. They said the rebel offensive was fueled by Gulf Arab funding and
military advice from Turkey.

“The rebels have been encouraged to directly threaten Latakia, which
until now has been relatively immune from the war,” a source said.

[On Jan. 28, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy
rebel fighting in the northern city of Hasakeh. The British group said 10
rebels were killed in a battle with Assad forces.]

Earlier this month, several rebel militias, including the Al Qaida-aligned
Nusra Front for the Defense of Syria, deployed near Latakia. The sources
said Nusra was joined by other Islamist factions as well as the Free Syrian
Army.

“There is competition between the rebels who gets their first,” the
source said. “Most of the wealth of the [Assad] regime is in Latakia.”

The offensive was launched amid Syrian Army gains against the rebels
around Damascus and Homs. The sources said the Army has been bolstered by
new paramilitary forces organized by the Assad regime over the last year.

The sources said the Latakia strategy was based on an assessment that
the rebel capture of Latakia would spark panic within the regime and drive
away its key allies, Iran and Russia. The Russian Navy maintains a presence
in Latakia as well as operates the much larger base in nearby Tartous.

So far, Nusra was reported to have established positions 20 kilometers
outside Latakia. FSA was said to have reached 35 kilometers from the
Alawite-dominated city, which also contains a large Christian and Kurdish
presence.

An FSA commander, identified only as Maj. Abu Suheil, said Latakia
represents the next challenge for the rebels. Abu Suheil said 10,000 FSA
fighters were being mobilized for the offensive.

“If we finish them there, we win,” Abu Suheil said. “That’s where most
of the fighting will take place. It will be face-to-face.”

The sources said the Damascus regime has been preparing for the rebel
assault. They said Iran has recruited its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
Hizbullah as well as Iraqi Shi’ite militias to defend Latakia.

But the rebels and their Arab supporters agreed that anti-government
forces were unable to overcome Assad’s overwhelming superiority. Saudi
Arabia has urged the international community to supply anti-tank and
anti-aircraft missiles.

“What is needed are sophisticated, high-level weapons that can bring
down planes, can take out tanks at a distance,” former Saudi intelligence
chief Prince Turki Al Faisal told the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland on Jan. 25. “You have to level the playing field.”

  Free Syrian Army, Latakia, Nusra Front, Spurred by Gulf Arab funding, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian rebels target Assad’s coastal home with backing from Gulf states, Turkey