Syria Round-Up: Insurgent Advances and Foreign-Supplied Weapons

Croatian Rak-12 Rocket Launcher in Rebel HandsA roundup of the most important developments in Syria over the weekend:

On Friday, Syrian insurgents captured Dael, a key crossroads town in Daraa Province. The victory, strategically important, demonstrated how international military support for the opposition is changing the face of the Syrian conflict. The group that led the attack, the Dawn of Islam Brigade, is central to the Saudi efforts to arm the opposition fighters with Croatian weapons, many of which were used to capture Dael.

See our Syria Analysis: International Aid Fuels Key Insurgent Victories in South

On Saturday, we discovered that a powerful Croatian weapon has made it to the Syrian battlefield. The extremely rare 12-tube rocket launcher, with a range of 8.5 to 13 kilometres (5.5 to 8 miles), is unlikely to have reached insurgents without the involvement of a foreign power .

See our Syria Exclusive: New Arms for Insurgents --- The Case of the Croatian Multiple Rocket Launcher

The weapon has already been seen in Daraa Province and near the Damascus International Airport --- a snap analysis assessed the impact.

There are three different levels of significance. The first is the military effectiveness of the weapon. The second level concerns what the weapon's presence says about the state of the international effort to arm the rebels. The third is a question about the rule of unintended consequences.

The entire analysis can be read here.

See Syria Live Coverage: Insurgents Make Key Advance in South 

On Sunday, we spotlighted the insurgent seizure of oilfeilds, some of which are on fire, in Deir Ez Zor Province.

See Syria Live Coverage: Getting the Story Wrong on US Intervention