Syrian armed forces have dispatched fixed-wing aircrafts and troops into two Damascus suburbs to dislodge Sunni-backed rebel forces that have taken control of the neighborhoods. The campaign comes as the Assad regime finds itself increasingly beseiged, with opposition forces also in range of Damascus’s airport, which they have declared a military target. Analysts have long emphasized that the loss of air superiority, whether as a function of rebels being capable of shooting down Syrian air assets or of Damascus being unable to get those assets off the ground, will deeply undermine the regime’s ability to defend itself. Western intelligence reports have suggested that Assad’s forces may be preparing chemical weapons for deployment, which the regime may do in a last-ditch effort to prevent defeat.