TODAY’S MESOP’S SYRIA INSIGHT

Syrian rebels reinforcedtheir positions in a key Damascus suburb on Tuesday in an effort to repel the regime offensive against the capital. The Syrian opposition forces defending Qaboun, a rebel-held district in Damascus, intend the influx of additional troops to stem the regime’s campaign to conquer rebel strongholds throughout the country. Extreme violence persists elsewhere, as the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that nine Syrians were“executed”at a regime checkpoint in Damascus province Monday evening.

In Homs, pro-regime militants killed seven members of a local reconciliation committee, according to the Observatory. Furthermore, the two-year-long conflict continues to take its toll on the Syrian economy, which has shrunk by 35 percent since the conflict began. The Syrian currency remains in sharp decline, and nearly half of the country is unemployed. While opposition within the U.S. Congress has stalled the delivery of lethal assistance to Syrian rebels, Britain has pledged equipment that would protect the Syrian rebels from chemical and biological weapons.