Syria's Internet and phone systems are restored after two-day blackout. http://on.cnn.com/TzkxX0
Internet, phone services back online for much of Syria - CNN.com
CNN Internet, phone services back online for much of Syria
By Amir Ahmed and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
updated 11:30 AM EST, Sat December 1, 2012
A Syrian rebel mans a Dska heavy machine gun as he scans the skies for Syrian air force fighter jets in Maarat al-Numan.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: At least 73 people are killed across Syria on Saturday, opposition activists say
- Syria's Internet and phone systems are restored after a two-day blackout
- Rebels say they control a swath north of Damascus International Airport
- Syrian state TV denies success claims by rebels
(CNN) -- Internet and cell phone coverage were restored Saturday to most Syrian provinces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, two days after a blackout shut down virtually all Internet service in the country.
Residents in the capital, Damascus, told CNN via Skype that their Internet and cell phone services were working again.
Syria's Internet and phone systems blacked out Thursday.
A Syrian government information minister said that "terrorists" -- which is how the Assad regime refers to rebels in a bloody, ongoing civil war -- cut the cable, knocking out Web communication with other countries.
Rebels have routinely used the Web to transmit images of the civil war, including what they claim have been military attacks by the Assad regime on civilians.
However, a leading Web security firm said the outage was almost certainly the work of the Syrian government.
Matthew Prince, CEO of CloudFlare, said his firm's investigations showed that all four Internet cables linking Syria to the outside world would have had to been cut simultaneously for a whole country outage to occur.
The blackout forced fighters to rely on radio communication, which they say is easier for the Syrian government to tap.
The US Embassy in Damascus and expat opposition supporters urged people to use "Speak to Tweet," a service which allows users to leave an audio message which is tweeted out as a link for people to click on and play. However, the phone service outage likely made it difficult to use.
As a result of the Internet shutdown, the flood of daily video images of fighting and decimation dried up.
Rebel leaders accused the government of creating the blackout to hide its mass killings from the outside world.
At least 73 people have been killed Saturday across Syria, including 23 in Damascus and its suburbs, and 20 more in Aleppo, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists.
Meanwhile, in a continued attempt to weaken President Bashar al-Assad's aerial strength, Syria's rebel fighters say they have tightened their grip on territory near Damascus International Airport.
Rebels have taken control of a crescent shaped swath of land about 20 kilometers long just north and east of the main road leading to the airport, said a revolutionary council for the Damascus area.
