Syria Direct: News Update 9-08-2013

* Syrian Observatory reports continued clashes between rebel fighters and regime forces around Qaboon as neighborhood activists claim troops lobbed poison gas grenades on Friday. Three FSA fighters suffered respiratory and neurological effects. Coalition statement charges regime with attempting to spread chaos and panic among residents, demands immediate international responses to protect Syrian people.

* Al-Manar: Syrian Army sources say their operation against the armed groups is continuing in historic, largely Christian town of Maloula. FSA’s Ahfad Al Rasoul Brigades post report to Facebook claiming rebel forces have secured the town’s perimeter and ordered fighters to leave population in peace.  Brigade warns Maloula residents to stay in homes due to sniper fire originating from Assad forces deployed on nearby hilltops. On Thursday a Jordanian suicide bomber blew up regime checkpoint into the town.

* Al-Arabiya: Three leaders from Ahfad al Rasoul Battalion were targeted in car bomb in Bab al Hawa crossing point to Turkey. Captain Mohammad Ali was injured in this explosion.

* “Military strike on Syria will hurt Syrian people more than it will hurt the regime,” Opposition Syrian Alawite actor, Jamal Slaiman. tells al-Nashra Lebanese art news. “When it comes to outside intervention, there is no opposition and loyalist, only patriotic and non-patriotic.”

* Al-Jazeera: Gulf Cooperation Council demands international community intervene immediately to protect Syrian people from regime violence. Secretary General of the GCC, Abdulatif al-Zayani of Bahrain assures full support of Gulf countries for international action to stop the Syrian regime from committing more crimes against its people.

* Al-Watan: Syrian Education Minister Hazowan al-Loz assures public that eighteen thousand schools will open at regularly scheduled time while thirty six thousand are out of service due to “terrorist groups”. An additional thousand schools have been repurposed as refugee housing according to al-Loz.