On Saturday, Syrian rebels controlled several border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, which are vital for the supply of weapons. And while the rebels seem to have stalled in the capital, they took control of several border crossings.
To the east, they now control two of the three main crossing points between Iraq and Syria, including Boukamal and Yaribiyah.
To the North, the rebels already have controlled since Friday the border crossings between Turkey and Syria, including the Bab al-Hawa. On Saturday, about 150 fighters from various Muslim countries (Algeria, Saudi Arabia, etc..) took over this position, reported AFP. They were equipped with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket launchers and heavy artisanal mines.
In contrast, in the south, the Free Syrian Army tried unsuccessfully to take control of a border crossing with Jordan, a senior Jordanian official, said.
To the West, the border with Lebanon is now under the complete control of the Syrian army.
On the diplomatic front, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his concern about the "rapid deterioration" of the situation, adding the Syrian government had failed to protect civilians.
The violence on Saturday killed at least 92 people, according to a Syrian NGO.
Mr. Ban called on the authorities to "stop the killings and the use of heavy weapons against the cities." He also dispatched to Damascus the Undersecretary for Operations of peacekeeping, the French diplomat Hervé Ladsous.
Paris, on its part, called to be prepared for the period after Bashar al-Assad's downfall and hoped "the rapid formation of a provisional government" which should be "representative of the diversity of Syrian society."
