The FSA Pushes The Syrian Army Out Of Atarib, Aleppo

Over the past several days there's been reports of the Free Syrian Army clashing with the Syrian Army around Atarib, around 20km from the Syrian- Turkish border, in a heavily contested region of the country. According to reports and videos from Syrian activists this has resulted in the Syrian Army retreating from the town.  The following are some of the videos filmed by the opposition as they entered the town showing the damage done to Atarib by the fighting

These two videos show the administration building in central Atarib, along with a destroyed BMP

In this video the Atarib Martyrs Brigade commander explains how they are securing documents from the above building, including resident ID info, land registries, and other important documents.  He says Assad's forces have been using those papers as sandwich wrappers, and says the documents will be kept safe until "the birth of our new country".

This video shows the Free Syrian Army flag hung from what's described as the main HQ for Assad's forces in the town

Since the capture of the town by the FSA the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported the following

Aleppo province: Regime forces retreated last night from inside the city of Atarib. There are now clashes between rebel fighters and regime forces on the edges, Syrian forces are using heavy artillery on the city from a nearby military base.

Over the past few weeks there's been an increased amount of FSA activity in Aleppo, with the area along the border with Turkey seemingly under the control of the FSA, and reports of military bases and checkpoints being attacked and captured across the region.  I hope to have a closer look at what has been happening across the Aleppo region soon, and the events in Atarib reflect the ever changing situation there.   You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com