Syrian rebels announced they had seized control of a government air force base located south of Damascus. reported As Reuters on November 19, this was the first time in the entire Syrian confrontation that the rebels managed to gain a foothold at a military facility in the immediate vicinity of the capital.

According to the rebels, the battle for the base in the village of Hadzar al-Aswad lasted four days. Opponents of Bashar al-Assad published a video in which they are captured against the background of destroyed air defense installations, and their commander reports on the radio about “full control over the military unit.”

There have been no reports of casualties from rebels or government forces at this time. Reuters also emphasizes that at the moment it has not been possible to obtain confirmation of the seizure of the base from independent sources.

The confrontation between supporters and opponents of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has been ongoing since the beginning of spring 2011. During this time, according to human rights activists, more than 38 thousand people became its victims, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were forced to leave their homes.

In early November, disparate rebel groups formed a coalition to coordinate their actions against Assad's government forces. The Gulf countries, the United States, the European Union and Turkey have already recognized the new entity as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, while France called the opposition association the only legitimate government body in the country.

Syrian rebels seize air base near Damascus