Rebels in Syria Clinch Key Region in Oil-Producing East

Syrian rebels say they’ve won control of a strategic region in the east of the country, bordering Iraq.

Rebel commanders say the Syrian army artillery base at Mayadeen has fallen to opposition hands after a 21 day siege. So far there’s been no response from the Syrian government.

Amr Al-Azm is a professor at Shawnee State University and a prominent member of the Syrian opposition here in the United States. He says the victory is strategic for the rebels, but not enough to change the balance of power.

“We need to see major cities fall, that’s when the balance of power will really begin to shift,” says Amr Al-Azm. “We need those first dominoes to drop.”