Army Base at Palmyra

At Palmyra, DigitalGlobe satellite imagery shows the construction of a military base within the protected zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The army base quite clearly could not have gone anywhere else, I guess. I mean, after all, it means there is a townl that ISIL would have to cross to get to it from their current front line which may be as near as six kilometres to the northeast, that will give the army a bit of time for a "strategic withdrawal" (aka, running away)if the Islamists decide to try to retake this strategic town. Its positioning certainly does not suggest the intention to stay and slug it out to protect the civilians and town. So, disappointing,

Aerial photo (Buzzfeed)

Note on this image the implications of the red line delimiting the 'demined' area - it means that the cemetery around the camp has not yet been demined.