page_title: Siege of Menagh Air Base
section_title: 2013
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Menagh Air Base / Siege / 2013
caption_attribution_description: English: The Syrian Air Force carrys out an airstrike on the surroundings of Menagh Air Base in order to aid the besieged government forces inside the base.
context_page_description: The Siege of Menagh Air Base was an armed confrontation between the Free Syrian Army and aligned Islamist rebel groups on one hand, and the Syrian Armed Forces on the other.
context_section_description: By January 2013, the base still held out against the rebels, despite being besieged on all sides. The remaining defenders were receiving supplies of weapons and food, as well as medical evacuations by helicopter; however, these flights became increasingly risky for pilots as rebel forces gained access to heavy weaponry and fired upon government helicopters. At this point the rebels estimated roughly 300 soldiers remained defending the air base. Soldiers who defected from the base reported that food supplies were a major issue and that soldiers were given rations of dry rice and wheat and told to "make what they can from it". Self-inflicted injuries were also reported as soldiers attempted to get away from the fighting.
  On 8 February, the Syrian Air Force bombed parts of the base after rebels stormed it, which forced the rebel fighters to retreat.
  A rebel attack was once again repulsed by government troops on 28 April, though rebels did manage to overrun some parts of the base before being forced to withdraw. 
  On 5 May 2013, as the siege of the base continued and government soldiers still refused to surrender, rebels launched their biggest offensive against the base to date, overrunning several Army positions and moving deep inside the base and capturing a tank, although they came under heavy aerial attack by the Syrian air force. Rebels claimed that a group of pilots defected and assassinated the base's commanding officer. The defecting pilots told rebels that around 200 soldiers remained in the base, garrisoned in the headquarters building supported by a handful of tanks. Many soldiers resorted to sleeping under tanks, fearing a rebel assault.
  On 9 May 2013, it was reported that, although they managed to capture parts of the Menagh Air Base, rebel forces were forced to retreat from the base due to heavy air strikes.
  On 28 May 2013, rebel sources reported that the government conducted a successful airborne resupply mission to the Menagh after several thousand FSA and jihadist rebels moved west to launch an attack on Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in the Afrin region, bringing critical military and logistical supplies to the air base. The Kurdish Front Brigade also withdrew its participation in the siege in order to join forces with the YPG to repel the attack on Afrin.
  On 7 June 2013, rebel forces attacked the air base and fired tank shells at its command building, but were once again repelled. Rebel forces launched another assault on 10 June, and by the next day had managed to secure the control tower after heavy fighting. Government forces responded by shelling rebel held parts of the base. On 17 June, rebels clashed with pro-government fighters from Nubbul and Zahra who were headed for Menagh in an effort to reinforce the soldiers left in the base.
  On 23 June 2013 the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that rebels had detonated a large car bomb in the government-held area of Menagh, which killed 12 soldiers and destroying many buildings within the airport. The explosion was reportedly followed by missile fire on army positions.
caption: Syrian Air Force strike on the surroundings of Menagh Air Base in support of the besieged government forces inside the base, April 2013
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