Civil War In Syria -- News Updates May 2, 2013

Assad Forces On The Offensive From Damascus To Mediterranean -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad retook a central district in the city of Homs on Thursday, driving a wedge between two isolated pockets of rebel resistance in Syria's third largest city, fighters and activists said.

The recapture of Wadi al-Sayeh, which links the besieged rebel stronghold in Khalidiyah to the opposition-held old city, appears to be part of a series of carefully focused counter-offensives that mark a shift from the indiscriminate campaigns earlier in the two-year-old conflict.

Homs is a link in the corridor connecting Assad's Damascus powerbase with the traditional Mediterranean heartland of his minority Alawite community. It was an early center of the mainly Sunni Muslim uprising against four decades of Assad family rule.

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Live Blog Syria -- Al Jazeera
Syria crisis: 'Government troops advance on Homs' - Thursday 2 May -- The Guardian
Syrian government reclaims parts of Homs -- CNN
Syrian troops push to oust rebels from central city as regime jets pound opposition enclaves -- Washington Post/AP
Syrian troops try to push rebels out of country's third-largest city -- FOX News/AP
Syrian Troops Advance in Key Homs Neighborhood -- Voice of America
Buoyed by successes, Syrian regime pushes to retake rebel-held city of Homs -- Christian Science Monitor
Clashes erupt on Syria's border with Turkey -- Al Jazeera
Report: 13 injured in stampede at Turkey-Syria border crossing -- CNN
Besieged Syrian Leader Makes Rare Public Appearance -- New York Times
Syria’s Assad makes rare public appearance in Damascus as rockets hit capital -- Washington Post/AP
For Syria, chemical weapons also a 'red line,' information minister says -- CNN
US and UK to wait on fresh evidence over Syria chemical weapons claims -- The Guardian
Turkish residents fear chemical weapons use in Syria -- Al Arabiya
Syria chemical weapons concerns spill into Turkey -- Euronews
Hezbollah leader pledges not to allow Syria's Assad to fall -- Examiner
Gauging Hezbollah's role in Syria -- Al Jazeera
Syria opposition denounces Hezbollah 'threat' -- Al Jazeera
US officials: Idea of arming Syrian rebels gains ground amid reports of new chemical attacks -- Washington Post/AP
Americans want U.S. to keep out of Syria conflict: poll -- Reuters
Obama bets big on Syrian rebel leader -- David Ignatius, Washington Post
Even With U.S. Guns, Syria’s Rebels Still Might Lose -- Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room