The world has been dealing with all sorts of crazy news as it lurches back and forth from one horrible even to another. Lest we forget, things are still horrible in Syria and the new report of Syrian rebels taking a major military base from the government of Bashar al-Assad should go far to remind us that things in Syria are still very, very bad. Even though the Syrian Civil War hasn’t been in the news as often as the current war against ISIS, it is still raging and veering back and forth between the Syrian government and the rebels who are struggling to overthrow it.

This latest news is just another in a series of defeats for the Syrian Army, as Bashar al-Assad’s government seems to be losing more and more ground every day. Facing onslaughts from Western-backed Syrian rebels, unaffiliated Islamist groups, and ISIS itself, the government has lost city after city. The fall of the base (known as Brigade 52) comes after the government lost the town of Palmyra, a crossing point into Jordan, and the city of Idlib, all within the past 3 months. The base contained a number of vehicles, including tanks and aircraft, both of which might be used in further fights again al-Assad’s forces.

The main push for the base was lead by Western-backed rebels and hopefully they manage to hold on to the base and prevent it from falling back into Syrian hands or, potentially even worse, the hands of radical Islamists or ISIS-affiliated militants. With a death toll of over 230,000 since the Civil War began in 2011, all sides (and those caught in the middle) are hoping that peace returns to the area sooner rather than later.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.