President Bashar al-Assad will reportedly address the nation briefing about the recent developments on Sunday, as per state news.
On Saturday, rebels continued its attack on Taftanaz air base and claim to be close to overrunning a regime helicopter base even as the head of the base was killed by the rebels, as per CNN report. Taftanaz air base is a key air force location and is used by the Syrian government to launch air attacks.
Syrian opposition coalition has said that it has not seen any significant increase in funding or arms supplies, despite widespread pledges of support from western and Arab states.
Members of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, formed in November, said that there is still no sign of western capitals relaxing their ban on delivering weapons to the rebels and even Gulf Arab governments.
A Syrian businessman, who has helped fund the opposition since the uprising began 22 months ago, pointed out that the weapon ‘supplies are drying up’.
As a result, he said, the fragmented rebel forces have given up hopes of a sweep through the country and are focusing instead on a ‘gradual war of attrition’, the Guardian reports.
He said that rebels are besieging isolated government military bases to stop the regime using planes and helicopters against them and ultimately to capture weapons, to compensate for the meagre supplies from abroad.
Assad’s forces have reportedly captured the brother of the head of al Qaeda, Mohamed al-Zawahiri, in Deraa in the south-west where he was meeting opposition activists.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over as al Qaeda leader following the killing of Osama bin Laden, has declared that it is the duty of Muslims to take part in a jihad against the “pernicious, cancerous regime” of Assad.