Amateur footage appears to show a statue of President Assad's
late father, Hafez al-Assad, being toppled in Raqqa
BBC
Syrian warplanes have bombed the northern city of Raqqa, hours after
reports said rebels had overrun it, activists and residents say.
Rebels captured the provincial governor when they routed regime forces
in the city on Monday.
If the city falls it would mark a significant victory for the rebels.
"The centre of the city is being bombarded by warplanes. I counted 60
rockets," Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed resident as saying.
Government forces had been sent to retake the city, Sharif Shihada, a
member of the Syrian parliament, told al-Jazeera television, Reuters
said.
Rebels had taken control of most of Raqqa but there were still pockets
of resistance, including inside the intelligence building in the city,
activists said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist
group, said 20 rebel fighters and "tens of regular soldiers" were killed
in fighting on Tuesday, while a civilian was shot dead by a sniper.
The SOHR said there were reports of further casualties from air
strikes.
The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and
reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group
says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be
independently verified.
Unverified video footage purported to show at least two explosions
hitting the city centre square, shortly after crowds had toppled a
statue of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.
People were seen fleeing in panic, with casualties scattered on the
ground.
The cameraman is heard to say: "War plane shelling... God is greater
than you, Bashar [al-Assad]... The injured have fallen."
Raqqa, situated on the Euphrates River near the Turkish border, has
been a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled the violence
in other parts of the country.
According to Reuters, some residents had pleaded with rebels not to
enter the city, fearing it would bring retribution from government
forces.
Late on Monday, rebels fought their way into governor Hassan Jalili's
palace, taking him and the ruling Baath party's secretary general for
Raqqa province, Suleiman Suleiman, captive.
Amateur video appeared to show the two men seated, surrounded by
jubilant rebels.
"All we want is to get rid of the regime," a voice is heard telling the
two captives.
The SOHR described Jalili's seizure as "the highest profile capture by
rebels of a regime official".
According to the SOHR, a high-ranking state security officer was also
taken captive by rebels, and a senior police official was killed.
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