In the Turkish city of Antakya, I meet a group of rebel fighters. They have travelled here from Syria to smuggle me back across the border. We are about a kilometre away from the nearest Turkish border post so we are crossing in the dead of night over farmland the avoid detention by Turkish authorities. In just a few metres we will be in Syrian territory - just as we cross, a sombre reminder of the danger of making this journey. 
 
MAN (Translation):  Journalists once filmed here, then this car was bombed and the dead were left in it.
 
MAN 2 (Translation):  The planes got to there, to the border?
 
MAN (Translation):  Of course.
 
We travel to the nearest rebel safe house - and another reminder of the war.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  This centre was initially for the regime then it was taken over by the Free Army and now it serves the residents, the affected people.
 
MAN 2 (Translation):  All we want is help for the Syrian people, everyone is dying, not only us here. We want you to save the rest, children and youths.
 
By morning we are well inside Syria.
 
SONG (Translation):  Syria wants freedom, Syria wants freedom, we told him to leave, the lowlife didn’t heed us.

I’m travelling through Idlib province with Bilal Al Khabin, the leader of the Free North Brigade. After some fierce clashes this region is now largely control by the rebel Free Syrian Army. Abou Qasim was a tank diver in the Government army before he defected.
 
ABOU QASIM (Translation):  On this road there was massive deployment of Assad’s forces or rather his gangs. But now, the Free Army is gradually capturing these areas.
 
REPORTER (Translation):  Where are we going now?
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  We are heading towards one of the Free Syrian Army bases. It consists of tunnels for transport, which we use when there are raids by the army.
 
In this increasingly violent war the rebels are able the use their local knowledge to great advantage. I'm the first journalist allowed to film in what is a remarkable labyrinth of tunnels but not everybody is happy about this.
 
MAN (Translation):  Please!

MAN 3 (Translation):  Forget about it. She is already here. Don’t worry. Film later. I’m telling you she is already here!

MAN (Translation):  He knows.

MAN 3 (Translation):  I know what I am doing.

MAN (Translation):  I asked twice, he said it’s fine.

MAN 3 (Translation):   Don’t film, he’s not ready.
 
With the rebels fighting a guerilla war this maze is highly strategic. This vast network of caves and tunnels run under the villages of Idlib they date back to about 3,000 BC according to the Free Syrian Army who are now using these to invade regime forces. 
 
REPORTER: (Translation):  What are those?
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Supplies as well as sleeping gear for the Free Army soldiers. This is a resting point.
 
There is enough oxygen reaching the caves to allow the fighters a leisurely smoke.
 
SOLDIER (Translation):  We are ready to burn ourselves like this cigarette, to bring happiness to our people.
 
There are several entry and exit points which are used by the fighters to surprise their foes.
 
REPORTER: (Translation):  How many times did the army try to find this tunnel?
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Of course, the army besieged us many times and we slipped through many times.
 
The next day we travel to Bilal Al Khabin's hometown of Sarmeen….controlled by the rebels. It seems no one, not even this young boy, has been left untouched by the war. 

 
BOY (Translation):  The game is now in the open, Defectors by the score, they want you out at all costs.  You are going down, Bashar.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  I deserted from the army because I couldn’t open fire on unarmed people. I never imagined that one day I would carry a rifle and aim it at the Syrian people.

One of the Free Army tasks was protecting demonstrations, but now the town is liberated and neither the security forces, the thugs, nor the army can enter the town.
 
But Bilal and his men cannot offer complete protection. Two days after our visit here the town is shelled. Four people die and 15 are injured. Back on the road, it is not long until we come to one of the many rebel roadblocks.
 
MAN 4 (Translation):  God is great! We’ll cut off Bashar al–Assad’s head. You hear, Bashar?
 
The rebels are hard pressed to counter the might of the Syrian army. No country will supply them with heavy weapons so they make do with what little they have got. This load will become landmines.
 
SOLDIER (Translation):  The mines don’t cost much, they are old water pipes. Fertilisers, urea….  We mix it with material… It does not cost much.

MAN 4 (Translation):  No, no, don’t tell her. Enough sister. God willing, the regime will fall during Ramadan.
 
Bilal wants to show me where some of the weapons are being manufactured. In this secret garage they are making mortars. 
 
MAN 5 (Translation):  This is the lid and we put the propelling charge in here and separate it from the explosive tip with this. Then the tip is fitted, but it is not ready yet.
 
These weapons cost about $50. They are highly unpredictable and will travel only a few kilometres but with China and Russia vetoing UN Security Council intervention in the war it is all the rebels have.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Compared to the military might of the regime…there is no room for comparison.
 
The crude devices have little military impact but they do raise the morale of the rebel fighters.
 
MAN 5 (Translation):  If we don’t make these, how can we fight? We’ll show them.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  There’s no tip fitted. The explosives tip isn’t ready yet. We’ll try it on the mountain.
 
He is keen the try out his new mortar and takes us to a remote villa where his soldiers are based and finds them cooling off from the heat. 
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Arm up! When I say arm up, do it straight away!  Arm up! Hurry up! Faster, faster!  We’ll now try out a locally made mortar cannon.  Okay?  We will aim at the foot of the hill.  March!
 
This may look like a rag-tag militia, though some have fought in many battles. But I'm about to see just how much they need good equipment.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Hold it until I tell you to release it.
 
After many futile attempts, the mortar trial is a failure. Back to the drawing board. As night falls, Bilal can only curse Syria's leader and those who will not offer the rebels military support.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Damn you, Bashar. Damn his father. God punish you, you lowlife. All because of Bashar al-Assad.  He has brought us despair.
 
MAN (Translation):  Damn the Europeans for what they are doing, lying to us.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Russia and China are bastards. The Chinese dragon and Russian bear.
 
MAN (Translation):  America and Europe hide behind the Russian veto.  Lies and despair.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  And they lie to us.
 
Months of fighting have left many here exhausted and one reason they have few international backers is that so little is known about these fighters.  In a bid to find out more about this army, I seek out its leader. He is here in this military camp back across the border in Turkey. Journalists and cameras are strictly forbidden. But Syrian opposition figures help get me into this inner sanctum and this is the rebel commander, Colonel Riad al–Asaad, a career soldier he defected from the Syrian army last year. Now the regime in Damascus wants him dead. Colonel Riad is receiving fighters from the strategic Syrian city of Aleppo.
 
MAN (Translation):  The Colonel has a troop in the Aleppo countryside.  Welcome.
 
They have come here seeking financial support. 
 
MAN (Translation):  We gave a lot, I swear. We are spending our own money. We need you to care for us. I swear, I’m begging for money. I contacted many people asking for money, but in vain. 
 
COLONEL RIAD AL-ASAAD (Translation):   It’s the fault of those outside who aren’t helping us.
 
MAN (Translation):  They think the colonels and officers in Turkey are getting lots of money. We have the same goal.
 
Colonel Riad has nothing the offer them, but he does want them to go into battle. He asks the fighters to link up with other brigades in the region it is a rare glimpse into the command structure of the rebel army.  
 
MAN (Translation):  Shall we coordinate with Mohammad Bakour?
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   Yes, and with Lieutenant Colonel Hekmet who commands the 2nd brigade in the area, so we can link Idlib with Aleppo. We have groups north of Aleppo and in Ajaj and the city itself. So the aim is coordinate with each other.
 
The meeting is interrupted by a phone call from a rebel supporter in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):    So who was killed there?
 
There has been a devastating attack by suicide bomber against key Government figures.
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):    They just confirmed that Hasan Turkmani is wounded and he is in Shami Hospital, but we want to know if the defence minister is dead. They confirmed that Turkmani is injured and is in Shami Hospital but the news is that the defence minister was killed.
 
TELEVISION REPORT (Translation):  News says Defence minister Daoud Rajha was killed. If this is confirmed, then he’d have been the main target.  We are trying to confirm this.
 
They try to establish who has been killed, but it is not easy sitting in a tent in Turkey. 
 
MAN (Translation):  Do you want to claim it in a statement?
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   Let’s wait for the details. Daoud Rajha was killed.  I’ll confirm it first.
 
MAN (Translation):  They confirmed it.  The regime confirmed his death.
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   Did they?
 
This is the Defence Minister's funeral in Damascus. He died along with the President's brother-in-law and two others, a telling blow by the opposition forces. It seems that Colonel Riad has no qualms using a suicide bomber, the preferred method of al-Qaeda. 
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   This is an integral part of revolutionary action and of Free Syrian Army action. We are able now to carry out operations that could break the regime’s back.
 
Colonel Riad has made a short trip to Istanbul for a series of meetings with high-level Turkish officials. 
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):  Massacres are committed daily against the Syrian people and no one is standing by them. There is political talk, but what we need now are practical steps, we need practical action on the ground to end the bloodbath and stem the blood flow in Syria.
 
But stopping the bleeding in Syria may depend on whether the rebels can achieve victory any time soon.

REPORTER:   Do you exercise command and control over all the groups fighting in Syria? Do you tell them what to do? 
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   There are general instructions, we issue general instructions. But as you know, in guerrilla wars in general, the commander is in charge. Commanders have the freedom to act because sometimes contact can be lost, but they can’t ignore general instructions and they abide by them in military action.
 
And the West is now worried that al-Qaeda is fighting alongside his rebel soldiers. 
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   There is no popular acceptance of extremists or al-Qaeda in Syria. We see this as a fabrication on the part of the regime.  We know that al-Qaeda does not exist at all in Syria.
 
REPORTER: (Translation):  What will you do if the regime falls tomorrow?
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   There are instructions to control security for an interim period until elections are held or a democratic government is formed. But preparations have been made, we have been preparing for this for several months.
 
REPORTER: (Translation):  What do you feel when you look out at Istanbul? There’s peace here, but there is none in Syria.
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):  whenever we look out and see the beautiful peace and security in Istanbul, we think of the contrasting reality in Syria and feel the pain.  I feel very, very hurt despite the beautiful scenery we see.
 
REPORTER: (Translation):  Just this suitcase?
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   That’s it. Light and neat.
 
Even as Riad prepares to travel back to the military camp, the battle for Syria has now reached its second-largest city, Aleppo.   Free Syria army brigades have been roundup from surrounding provinces and pitched into the conflict and Bilal Al Khabin's group is also taking part. 
 
REPORTER: (Translation):  How many armed men are with you?
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  Four to five hundred armed men.
 
They face overwhelming odds, including dozens of tanks. Back in the military camp, Colonel Riad says he is coordinating the fighters from Turkey but this long drawn-out war is taking its toll. 
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   A lot is required but you only have a little, so that is why sometimes I feel very tired, exhausted. Yesterday the decision was made to enter Aleppo and a few battalions did enter it. This requires a lot of effort, you have to provide them at least with ammunition in case they are besieged, so they can continue their work.  So it is tiring in that sense.
 
Despite the odds, these opposition fighters are prepared to pay a high price for freedom.
 
BILAL AL KHABIN (Translation):  We want Syria to be - or rather Syria must be a free, just, democratic, prosperous and strong Syria.
 
COLONEL RIAD (Translation):   We consider ourselves enslaved, oppressed for 40 years, we seek to gain our freedom at any price. No matter how much blood it costs.

YALDA HAKIM:  Yarra tells us that Colonel Riad has sent his second in command to coordinate the rebel fighters in Aleppo. She has always done a video blog talking about her experience filming in those claustrophobic tunnels. You can see all our recent stories on the rapidly changing politics of the Middle East at sbs.com.au/dateline.