The Free Syria Army has warned airlines to suspend service to Damascus and Aleppo, saying rebel forces could begin attacking airports in the two cities as early as next Tuesday, the London-based daily Asharq Alawsat reported on Friday, citing the FSA's high command.
"The civil airports of Damascus and Aleppo may become targets of FSA attacks beginning on Tuesday next week, since they are being used by the criminal regime for military aviation to carry out strikes against Syrian rebels," RIA Novosti quoted the report as saying.
The Syrian air force was forced to begin using civil airports as bases due to a string of successful rebel attacks on military bases, including one on an airfield near Idlib that destroyed 10 military planes, it said.
Analysts said the rebel statement was mainly aimed at drawing attention to the regime's use of civil airports for military aviation, which is a violation of international agreements, the paper said.