Lebanon to expect a wave of refugees heading borders from the predominantly Alawite Latakia, Bashar al-Assad's hometown as Islamist rebels press more advances in Syria's northwestern province.
Nada Abdelsamad, Lebanese journalist, said on her official Twitter account as fighting in Latakia getting fierce, the expectations of a new refugees to Lebanon from the Alawite minority rise.
Rebels have in the past sought to bring their four-year-long battle to topple Assad's rule close to the coastal areas in government-held Latakia, the stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite sect. Latakia is the main port in Syria and crucial to the rebels goal of toppling Assad's government.
Two rebel sources said the fighting was near the mountains of Jabal al-Akrad, close to some of the highest peaks in Syria including Nabi Younis that overlook Alawite villages and close to Qardaha, the hometown of the Assad family.
"The capture of the peaks would make the Alawite villages in our firing range," told Reuters one rebel field commander from Ahrar al Sham based in Idlib on Skpye.
Insurgents have captured strategic territory in the South and in northwestern Idlib province, where they have edged closer to Latakia.
In August 2013, Islamist rebels helped by foreign fighters were able to briefly capture villages populated by Assad's Alawite minority.
Zaman Al Wasl
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