Clashes rage as France calls for power transfer

Protestors hold placards and shout during a demonstration in central Ankara yesterday against the deployment of US made Patriot missiles near the Syrian border. Nato agreed in December to deploy Patriot missiles to help its ally Turkey after shells from Syria landed on the Turkish side of the border late last year, killing five civilians.Photo: AFP

Clashes erupted at dawn yesterday around Aleppo airport and a nearby airbase, as Syrian troops bombarded the Golan ceasefire zone bordering Israel in response to rebel attacks, a watchdog said.
The insurgents are pressing for more gains in the northern province of Aleppo after seizing Al-Jarrah military airport and a military complex tasked with securing the international airport this week.
They see the capture of the airports as a way of seizing large amounts of ammunition and to put out of action warplanes used by the regime to bombard rebel-held areas.
The latest violence in the area comes after more than 150 combattants from both sides were killed in the battle for Base 80, the now rebel-held military complex that was tasked with protecting the strategic airports.
Also yesterday, fighting erupted in the Golan Heights as rebels overran a military police checkpoint at Khan Arnabeh, a town just beyond the outer ceasefire line along the demilitarised zone bordering Israel, said the Observatory.
Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian yesterday called for urgent action to bring about a power transfer in Syria that excludes President Bashar al-Assad.
He said the change should be "a transition in which president Assad would no longer keep his place".
The minister's remarks came after the umbrella opposition National Council on Friday refused to accept Assad in any talks on ending Syria's 23-month conflict, as part of a "framework" it has drawn up for a political solution.
The clashes come a day after 170 people were killed nationwide, according to the Observatory.