People stand near a damaged car and debris after explosions hit the main gate of the Syrian Interior Ministry in Damascus, Wednesday night. Three bombs collapsed walls in the Syrian Interior Ministry building, killing several, as rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad edged closer to the capital. — AP DAMASCUS — As Syrian rebel fighters edge closer toward central Damascus, displaced families who first flocked to the capital to escape the civil war elsewhere fear they will lose their safe haven. There is scant evidence that forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad are regaining control. Rebels now hold a near continuous arc of territory from the east to the southwest of his capital. Um Hassan, a grandmother who until recently lived in the outskirts of Damascus, gave her daughter's family refuge after they fled their bombed-out rural home town last month. But before long rebels took over Um Hassan's neighborhood, a push which was inevitably followed by army bombardment and this week the entire family had to move to another suburb. The grandmother, daughter, son-in-law and two girls found a place with one bedroom and a living room. Um Hassan cleans houses for around $15 a day to supplement the shared rent. “We escape from one place and trouble follows. I don't know where we can keep running to,” she said. Almost every family in the capital is now doubling up with relatives or friends displaced elsewhere. For them, the city is their final refuge from countrywide fighting and bombardment, but now Damascenes themselves are bracing for the worst. This week, rebels clashed with government forces right in the centre of the capital, exchanging machinegun fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) through the streets of Rawda, a ritzy district near the Central Bank. “Can you imagine? RPGs fired in a tiny alley? They want Damascus completely destroyed?” said a witness, who withheld his name for safety reasons. Rebels have also announced that Damascus International Airport is now a military target and clashes on the road to the airport, a 25 minute drive from the city centre, are frequent. At least 40,000 people have been killed in Syria's uprising, which started in March 2011 with street protests which were met with gunfire by Assad's security forces, and which spiralled into the most enduring and destructive of the Arab revolts. Perhaps most alarming for Damascenes is that rebels keep promising that the final battle for the capital is imminent. A video posted on YouTube titled “Stages of Zero Hour: Are You Ready?” calls for civil disobedience and general strikes to pressure army troops to abandon their posts and join the rebels. The video does not specify “Zero Hour”, but say it will be announced through social media, TV channels and mosques. Once a thriving metropolis with tourists wandering through its Old City and couples sitting in its cafes, Damascus now resembles a garrison town preparing for disaster. Last month, the army placed new missile batteries on the Qasioun mountains, which overlook the capital, and opposition activists say more batteries are deployed within Damascus' centre, including one inside the Old City's medieval citadel. Day and night, Damascenes can hear the thunderous sound of bombardment aimed at rebel-held and contested neighbourhoods. The city's streets have now turned into a labyrinth of checkpoints and road blocks, with several major roads permanently closed off to traffic by concrete barriers. – Reuters
