Syria rebels ‘need help’

Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al Assad need the protection of foreign-guarded no-fly zones and safe havens near the borders with Jordan and Turkey, a Syrian opposition leader said yesterday.

Battles raged on in Aleppo, where tanks, artillery and snipers attacked rebels in the Saif al-Dawla district next to the devastated area of Salaheddine.

Abdelbasset Sida, head of the Syrian National Council, said the US had realised that the absence of a no-fly zone to counter Assad’s air superiority hindered rebel movements.