MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

The fall of Damascus is not a matter of if, but when …

By DAVID ENDERS, The Miami Herald – “MAYADIN, Syria — After a siege that lasted nearly a month, Syrian government soldiers abandoned an artillery base in the town of Mayadin Thursday morning, handing anti-government rebels in southeastern Deir al Zour province a key victory that will allow them to move next to the airport near the provincial capital, one of the last positions the Syrian military controls in the province.

‘Then we are going to Damascus!’ rebels shouted on Thursday afternoon as they hoisted a black flag above the captured base, which had been a livestock feed plant before the Syrian military took it over.

The battle for control of Deir al Zour is one of the least watched in Syria, with no foreign reporters visiting this oil-producing region in months. But the struggle here is an important one, with the rebels hoping to use their advance to cut off the government’s access to its oil fields.

How quickly the rebels can eject the military entirely from the province is uncertain, however. The Syrian military still controls the roads leading into the provincial capital, also known as Deir al Zour, though the rebels are in the process of effectively surrounding the military there.