* Leadership to be based in Idlib or Aleppo
* Rebel-controlled Syria still under aerial attack
* Colonel says FSA will fight with other rebel groups
By Oliver Holmes
BEIRUT, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA)
has moved its leadership for the first time from Turkey to parts
of Syria that are now controlled by rebels, the group’s
commander-in-chief said on Saturday.
The FSA has been based in Turkey for more than a year as
fighters have struggled to battle forces loyal to President
Bashar al-Assad. Although rebels now control large swathes of
Syria, they face air and artillery attack from Assad’s forces.
“The leadership of the FSA has entered the liberated areas
(of Syria) after the success of the plan that the FSA has worked
on with other battalions and units in order to safeguard the
free areas,” Colonel Riad al-Asaad said in a video statement.
A rebel source close to Asaad said that the colonel arrived
in Syria two days ago. “The plan is that all the leadership of
the FSA will be based in Syria soon, either… >>>
