Syria rebels claim jet downing as army advances in Aleppo

Syrian rebels claimed they downed a fighter jet Monday in what would be a major coup for the opposition but the regime seized the upper hand in Aleppo as it advanced into a new rebel-held district.

Government forces also bombarded areas around Damascus and launched a wide sweep of the capital, including its once-bustling historic Old City, while shocking videos emerged showing alleged rebel atrocities in the Aleppo area.

State media said a military plane had crashed in the east of the country while on training patrol after suffering a technical malfunction and that the pilot had ejected.

But the Free Syria Army, which has been calling for the international community to arm it with anti-aircraft weapons as it battles escalating regime attacks from the sky, claimed it shot down the plane in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor .

"Yes, we can confirm that a MiG 21 has been downed," said FSA spokesman Kassem Saadeddine. "It was hit with 14.5 calibre anti-aircraft machinegun."

A group of rebels calling itself the "Revolutionary Youth of the Land of the Euphrates" distributed a video showing a man identified as pilot Mufid Mohammed Suleiman, surrounded by three armed men.

"My mission was to bomb the town of Muhasen," said the purported pilot.

If confirmed, the attack would be the first time the rebels have succeeded in downing a Syrian plane since President Bashar al-Assad launched an increasingly brutal crackdown on protests 17 months ago.

International concern is mounting over how to end a conflict that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis and sent hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing, with at least 100 people being killed daily.

The opposition has accused the regime of increasingly resorting to firing from fighter jets on rebels, particularly the second city of Aleppo which has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks.

"Eyewitnesses in Muhasen in the countryside of confirmed that a MiG was downed today, after it was hit and went up in flames," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

An amateur video posted on YouTube by activists shows a fighter jet apparently being hit in a ball of fire.

Meanwhile, grisly footage of apparent atrocities in the Aleppo area emerged, appearing to show rebels callously throwing bodies off a post office building, while another video showed a man, blindfolded and bound, as his throat was savagely cut.

A crowd of people are seeing gathering around several bodies crumpled on the ground outside a building said to be in Al-Bab near Aleppo before another three victims are hurled one-by-one from the rooftop.

In another video, a blindfolded man with his hands tied behind his back is forced to lie down on a pavement in Aleppo, calling out "I would rather die by a bullet."

As the group chanted "Allahu Akbar" an assailant forced what appeared to be a small knife repeatedly across his throat as his blood spurted onto the pavement.

Both sides in the increasingly vicious conflict have been accused of human rights violations as reports of cold-blooded killings mount, although the authenticity of the latest videos could not be verified.

"What is the difference between them and a wild animal in the jungle? At least a wild animal does not kill unless it is hungry," said Massoud Akko, a Kurdish activist and co-founder of the Association of Syrian Journalists.

Syria's army gained ground Monday as it advanced into a new rebel-held area of Aleppo, the northern metropolis seen as pivotal to the outcome of the conflict.

"With tanks, Syria's regime forces have stormed the west of the district of Saif al-Dawla," said the Observatory. "They are now clashing with the rebels, and parts of Salaheddin are being shelled."

Rebels in July took over several districts, particularly in the city's southern belt, but regime forces last week reclaimed most of the Salaheddin that neighbours Saif al-Dawla.

With world powers still deadlocked, the opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council issued a new appeal for the establishment of no-fly zones.

SNC head Abdel Basset Sayda told AFP the rebels wanted "two no-fly zones, one in the north near the Turkish border, and another in the south near the border with Jordan," in addition to "safe places for refugees and humanitarian corridors."

More than 21,000 people have been killed since March last year, with fighting escalating after the failure of former envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan and an increasing number of defections by high-ranking officials.

The latest to flee Monday was Syria's top representative at the UN Human Rights Council.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Muslim states hold talks in Saudi Arabia Monday while the UN Security Council -- which has so far failed to reach a consensus on how to stop the bloodshed -- meets Thursday to debate the future of its mission in Syria.

Also Monday, security forces arrested 22 residents in a major operation in the heart of Damascus, including the Old City, while shells slammed into rebel strongholds around the capital, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

It was biggest operation of its kind in the city since the launch of the uprising against Assad, the Observatory said, adding that at least 50 people had been killed in violence across the country Monday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-warplane-crashes-state-media-005949327.html

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