You're reading: Los Angeles Times: Syrian forces battling Assad seek unity through the National Army

Los Angeles Times: Syrian forces battling Assad seek unity through the National Army

Published May 14, 2018 at 3:39 pm

Syrian women walk past a large portrait of President Bashar al-Assad and a watermarked portrait of his late father and former President Hafez al-Assad as they queue to attend the government-sponsored "Ghouta Shopping Festival", in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on May 13, 2018.

Photo by AFP

In the seven years he has fought to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, opposition forces Col. Haitham Afisi’s beard has turned white and his voice has become a deep rumble.

The tall, muscular colonel, however, remains familiar to many Syrians, and someone to admire for those who oppose the Assad government.