Free Syrian Army fighters splash a boy with water to help him cool down in warm weather, along a street in Deir al-Zor August 19, 2013. Picture taken August 19, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces attacked rebel positions in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Tuesday, days after a rebel advance threatened to bring the whole city under the control of anti-Assad forces, opposition activists said.
The provincial capital on the banks of the Euphrates, 430 km (270 miles) northeast of Damascus, anchors a vast, arid oil-producing region bordering Iraq. Half of it fell to rebels a year ago but Assad's forces have held out in several districts in the west of the Sunni Muslim city and in the airport to the east.
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