Syria: Massacre continues - Aleppo hospitals deal with patient surge after offensive

 Hospitals in Western Aleppo are dealing with a surge in patients caught up in a rebel attack on government forces, who have the east of the city under siege.

Activists say at least 15 civilians have been killled and more than 100 wounded by rebel shelling.

State media say seven people died.

Syrian rebels launched a counter-attack on government forces and their allies in western Aleppo on Friday.

The aim was to break a weeks-long siege on the eastern Syrian city.

The assault was mainly focused on the city’s western edge by rebels based in the countryside outside Aleppo.

Photographs seem to show insurgents approaching Aleppo in tanks, armoured vehicles, bulldozers, pick-up trucks and on motorcycles.

A large column of smoke can also be seen.

Read full report: Aleppo hospitals deal with patient surge after offensive

Ukraine: In Eastern Ukraine, Rebel Mockery Amid Independence Celebration - by Andrew E. Kramer

On a day when Ukrainians celebrated their independence from the Soviet Union with parades and speeches, pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country staged a grim counter-spectacle: a parade that mocked the national army and celebrated the death and imprisonment of its soldiers.

Leading the procession was an attractive young blond woman carrying an assault rifle, followed by several dozen captured Ukrainian soldiers: filthy, bruised and unkempt. Their heads were shaved, they wore fetid camouflage uniforms, and they looked down at their feet as they walked.

Onlookers shouted that the men should be shot, and they pelted the prisoners with empty water bottles and rolls of toilet paper as they stumbled down Artyomovsk Street, Donetsk’s main thoroughfare. A loudspeaker played Tchaikovsky’s “Slavonic March,” a familiar Russian patriotic piece.

Behind the prisoners came two tank trucks spraying soapy water, demonstratively cleaning the pavement where the Ukrainian soldiers had passed.

People in the crowd shouted, “Fascists!” and “Perverts!” And separatist fighters held back a man who tried to punch a prisoner.

The public parading and abuse of the wounded, disheveled soldiers seemed to offend few of those watching the parade. “Shoot them!” one woman yelled.

“They are attacking our city,” said Tonya Koralova, 46, a nurse who watched the men pass. “They are fascists. I am in favor of this parade.”

The anti-independence day parade staged by the main rebel group in eastern Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic, was one of its most provocative public affronts to the Ukrainian government to date. It contrasted sharply with the traditional military parade in Kiev, the national capital, where soldiers from the national army crisply saluted the president and crowds of cheering citizens on Sunday.

Read more: In Eastern Ukraine, Rebel Mockery Amid Independence Celebration - NYTimes.com

Syria Rebel Forces: The Most Accurate Breakdown Of The Syrian Rebels - Business Insider

Who are the approximately 100,000 rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad?
Assad claims that “80 to 90% of those [the Syrian government is] fighting belong to al Qaeda."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry claims that 15% to 25% of the opposition is "bad guys" who belong to an extremist groups.

Neither is accurate.

Read more: GRAPHIC: The Most Accurate Breakdown Of The Syrian Rebels - Business Insider

Syria: 75 Syria rebels dead in Damascus battles

Syrian activists say government troops have killed at least 75 rebels over 24 hours in battles for control of the capital, Damascus.

The death toll reported by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday included 49 rebels killed in an ambush in Damascus' northeastern suburb of Adra early Sunday. The group says an elite unit loyal to President Bashar Assad ambushed the rebels as they were trying to push into the city.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported the ambush Sunday, without giving a casualty figure.

The Observatory reported that another 17 rebels died in fighting Sunday in central Damascus, while another nine were killed in its suburbs.

It was one of the deadliest days for the opposition in the 2-year-old conflict, which has killed 93,000 people.

Read more: Activists: 75 Syria rebels dead in Damascus battles

Syria revolt reaches Aleppo; rebels target cities

Riding a wave of momentum, Syrian rebels made a run on Aleppo Saturday in some of the fiercest fighting seen in the country's largest city, which has been a key bastion of support for President Bashar Assad over the course of the 17-month-old uprising.

The rebels also took over a third border crossing -- and the second one along Syria's northeastern frontier with Iraq -- another sign the regime's tight grip on the country is wobbling.

The fighting in Aleppo comes on the heels of intense clashes in the capital, Damascus, as rebel forces target the pillars of regime power in their attempts to usher in what they hope will be the end of Assad's rule.

Read more: Syria revolt reaches Aleppo; rebels target cities - Boston.com