Story highlights Stepped up fighting in Damascus signifies the beginning of end, one Syrian says

Rebel gains in past month: Taking oil fields, downing aircraft, getting weapons

Observers: Climate has changed in Syria, the war may be wrapping up

Hell came to Damascus months ago. It's loud and scary in Syria's capital. But now, this week, something seems different.

It feels worse. And that makes Leena feel better.

The Damascus resident, who sides with the rebellion, says it means the forces fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad are winning.

"The rebels are winning, can you see?" she insisted during a Skype call Wednesday. "The regime feels threatened. They are scared. You can feel it here. It's so tense."

Leena, a former teacher in her 30s, told CNN that she's hearing more helicopters hovering over her home this week. Traffic near the presidential palace is more hectic. Checkpoints are more intense. Blink, she said, and the price of gas goes higher.

But the chaos, the uncertainty and booms of shells landing that keep her awake at night, now fill her with hope.

JUST WATCHED Report: Syria readying chemical weapons Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Report: Syria readying chemical weapons 08:06

JUST WATCHED Mortar strikes school in refugee camp Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Mortar strikes school in refugee camp 00:53

JUST WATCHED Syrian family lives underground Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Syrian family lives underground 02:43

Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Rebels celebrate next to the remains of a Syrian government fighter jet, which was shot down at Daret Ezza on the border of the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo on Wednesday, November 28. Look back at photos from the conflict in October Hide Caption 1 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian men inspect the scene of a car bomb explosion on Wednesday in Jaramana, a small town near Damascus that has provided a refuge for pro-government Syrians displaced in the civil war. Twin car bombs near the capital killed dozens, state media reported. Hide Caption 2 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian men walk around a pool of blood at the site of a car bomb explosion in Jaramana on Wednesday. Hide Caption 3 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian rebels celebrate on top of the remains of a Syrian government fighter jet that was shot down at Daret Ezza, on the border between the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, on Wednesday. Hide Caption 4 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – The scars of war -- damage is readily visible at a government-controlled building in al-Layramun district of Aleppo on Monday, November 26. Hide Caption 5 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A man stands next to a crater in the village of Atme after a Syrian warplane launched an attack against a rebel command center near the border with Turkey on Monday. Hide Caption 6 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian man cooks a meal at a refugee camp in Qah, near the northwestern city of Idlib on Saturday, November 24. Hide Caption 7 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian boys from Ras al-Ain attempt to cross back into Syria at the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar on Saturday. Hide Caption 8 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian rebels and bystanders watch as a bulldozer removes debris from outside the Dar Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo on Thursday, November 22. Hide Caption 9 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Rescue workers cover a corpse under the debris outside Dar Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo on Thursday. Hide Caption 10 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian boy cleans debris from outside Dar Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo on Thursday. Hide Caption 11 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian refugees fleeing their homes in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain walk to cross the border fence into Turkey, as seen from the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, on Wednesday, November 21. Hide Caption 12 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian rebel fighters drive through the gate of Syrian Government Army Base 46 after its capture, near Aleppo on Wednesday. Defected Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Faj, who commanded the assault, hailed the capture of the base as "one of our biggest victories since the start of the revolution" against President Bashar al-Assad. Hide Caption 13 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Smoke and fire rise from the Roman citadel of Kalat al-Numan after it was bombed by a Syrian government jet on Tuesday, November 20, in Maaret al-Numan, Syria. The Roman-era town of 150,000 is now virtually deserted due to the heavy shelling and aerial bombardments. Hide Caption 14 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrians ride on a horse-drawn cart in the streets of the Tarik al-Bab neighborhood in Aleppo on Sunday, November 18. Hide Caption 15 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian rebels stand guard outside a church in the town of Ras al-Ain near the border with Turkey on Friday, November 16. Hide Caption 16 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A picture shows a heavily damaged house after airstrikes by Syrian regime forces in Ras al-Ain on Friday. Hide Caption 17 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian rebel takes cover during fighting against government forces in Aleppo on Thursday, November 15. Hide Caption 18 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Turkish soldier in a foxhole in Ceylanpinar, Turkey, watches Syrian opposition fighters praying in the strategic Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain on Wednesday, November 14. Hide Caption 19 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian rebel commander of the Halab al-Shabah battalion motivates fighters during clashes with regime forces in Al-Amariya district of Aleppo on Tuesday, November 13. Hide Caption 20 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Smoke billows from burning tires as a Syrian rebel fires toward regime forces in Aleppo on Tuesday. Hide Caption 21 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian rebels take position in Aleppo on Tuesday. Hide Caption 22 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Smoke rises after Syrian aircraft bombed the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain, killing at least four people, wounding many others and sending panicked residents fleeing across to Turkey on Monday, November 12. Hide Caption 23 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian opposition fighter Bazel Araj, 19, sleeps next to his gun in Aleppo on Sunday, November 11. Hide Caption 24 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian opposition fighters pass a civilian as they patrol the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday. Hide Caption 25 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian opposition fighter walks in a destroyed house after hard clashes with Syrian regime forces in Ras al Ain on Saturday, November 10. Hide Caption 26 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian nationals cross the border between the Syrian town of Ras al Ain and Ceylanpinar, Turkey, on Saturday. Hide Caption 27 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian army soldiers ride along a street Saturday in the northern province of Aleppo. Hide Caption 28 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian opposition fighter stands in a destroyed house in Ras al Ain on Saturday. Hide Caption 29 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrians cross the border into Turkey on Friday, November 9, near the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar. Hide Caption 30 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Smoke rises after an explosion in the Syrian village of Bariqa near the the cease-fire line in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Wednesday, November 7. Israel is asking the U.N. Security Council to address an intrusion by Syrian tanks into the buffer zone between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights, which Israel says violates the two countries' Separation of Forces agreement. Hide Caption 31 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows damage caused by a mortar attack in a residential district of Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday. Hide Caption 32 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A damaged vehicle and building are damaged after bomb explosions in in Damascus on Wednesday in this photo released by Syria's national news agency, SANA. Multiple bomb explosions on Wednesday hit a hilltop district in Damascus populated by members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, witnesses said. Hide Caption 33 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – An Israeli Merkava tank crew sits in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights overlooking the Syrian village of Breqa on Tuesday, November 6. An Israeli military vehicle in the Golan Heights was hit by gunfire from Syria on Monday, the Israeli army said. Hide Caption 34 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A mortar shell explodes in the Syrian village of Breqa on Tuesday. Hide Caption 35 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian rescue workers evacuate a woman and her two children from a building targeted by an airstrike from government forces in a town northeast of Aleppo on Sunday, November 4. An AFP correspondent reported three air strikes on the town in close succession. Hide Caption 36 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Syrian people take cover as a second bomb explodes during a rescue attempt in nearby a building that was hit during an air raid by government forces earlier on Sunday. Hide Caption 37 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A Syrian rebel fighter rests on a couch in a rebel-controlled building on the front line in Aleppo's northern Izaa quarter on Sunday. Hide Caption 38 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A mannequin used by rebel fighters as a decoy is seen in an area where clashes continue with pro-government forces in Aleppo on Friday, November 2. Hide Caption 39 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – A member of the Free Syrian Army runs for cover from sniper fire in Aleppo on Friday. Hide Caption 40 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Members of the Free Syrian Army stand close to an unexploded bomb dropped by a fighter jet weeks earlier, at a checkpoint in Aleppo on Thursday, November 1. Hide Caption 41 of 42 Photos: Showdown in Syria: Photos from November Showdown in Syria – Buildings lie destoryed by what activists say were missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Erbeen, near Damascus on Thursday. See photographs from October Hide Caption 42 of 42

Damascus is the seat of al-Assad's power. Rebel forces seem to be fighting harder than ever in the capital and, according to analysts and on-the-ground observers like Leena, al-Assad is acting like a boxer who fears his own knock-out is coming.

"The worse it gets now, the more we know the rebels will win," she said. "We welcome this fight. It means we will wake up from this nightmare."

In the past several weeks, the rebels -- once disorganized, dysfunctional and poorly armed -- have made major strategic and psychological gains.

They have seized control of key oil fields and territory in important areas of the north. They have audaciously fired on the Damascus airport and downed several military aircraft.

Rebels pounced on a key Air Force headquarters outside the northern city of Aleppo, seizing a large cache of weapons, and leaving the regime so desperate it bombed its own bases to prevent the rebels from getting any more.

It was another blow to Syria's army, which experts say is spent, stretched thin by desertions and defections.

Syrian rebels in Damascus say they are more organized, better armed with heavy weaponry, and ready to "cleanse Syria" of government forces, Free Syrian Army spokesman Abu Qutada told CNN.

He said the rebels have "started the ending battle" of the war.

"We are conducting significant military operation inside the capital Damascus, this is a new stage," Abu Qutada said Wednesday via Skype from the Damascus suburbs. "This is the decisive stage of our fight."

And, international support for the rebels' cause appears to be increasing. NATO recently approved sending Patriot missiles to Turkey , which supports the rebels. France and other pivotal European countries have said they also back the movement against al-Assad.

JUST WATCHED Syrian rebels lay siege to military base Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Syrian rebels lay siege to military base 03:27

JUST WATCHED A Syrian 'opposition Prime Minister' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH A Syrian 'opposition Prime Minister' 08:52

JUST WATCHED Children fight for food in Aleppo Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Children fight for food in Aleppo 02:17

Those opposed to al-Assad -- including the United States -- have said for months that the Syrian leader's days are numbered. Now, there are signs of desperation:

And the Syrian government has been blamed for temporarily shutting down Internet service in the country last week , an alleged attempt to thwart rebel communication.

So, with key rebel advances in the north and signs of desperation in Damascus, many observers believe the end is in sight for Syria's 21-month-old brutal civil war.

The regime is clinging to the capital, Damascus, as rebels chip away at the military, according to regional analysts. And the rebels don't have the clout to go toe-to-toe with the government in the center of Damascus, according to senior analyst Joseph Holliday.

"It (the Syrian rebellion) will not be able to overthrow the Assad regime for the foreseeable future," wrote Holliday of the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

But, he said, that doesn't mean a certain victory for al-Assad' forces.

"The regime does not have the forces required to hold all of Syria, and its control is steadily eroding across the country."

'We thought it would be over fast'

If this is a crossroads in the war, the road leading to it has been long and hard.

Syria's conflict began in March 2011, when protesters like Leena took to the streets to peacefully call for more freedom. They were inspired by Arab Spring demonstrations that toppled dictators in Egypt and Tunisia.

JUST WATCHED Former Syrian pilot speaks out Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Former Syrian pilot speaks out 02:37

JUST WATCHED Witness: Indiscriminate killing in Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Witness: Indiscriminate killing in Syria 03:11

"I have to tell you, we thought it would be over fast," Leena said. "I never thought it would come this far. None of us expected to lose this many friends."

She pauses, her voice breaking.

"We ... knew the regime was strong, but not that ... fierce. I guess we did not expect how terrible it would be."

The most heinous acts man is capable of inflicting on others have happened in Syria.

Journalists, Syrians and human rights workers say the military has gone house to house and shot dead entire families.

Children, they say, have been abducted, tortured and killed and dumped on their parents' front door. There are allegations of underground torture facilities across the country.

The Syrian government denies it is targeting its own people, saying it has gone after "terrorists" that are seeking to overthrow the government.

While it's tough to pin down estimates of regime forces and rebel fighters, most analysts agree that the Syrian government still retains vast superiority in firepower over the rebel fighters.

Yet there's a "turning process" going on in Syria, according to analyst Jeffrey White, who recently visited the region.

"Morale, combat spirit (within regime forces) seems to be degrading," said White, a defense fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "The rebels are getting stronger, they keep forming units, they keep getting defectors, they keep getting personnel."

The rebel movement has grown bottom-up, a fighting force replete with Syrian army defectors, Syrian citizens, and Islamists -- from inside and outside the country. Regional commands are emerging, and units are working together.

The government has ceded huge swaths of territory in the north, and hasn't been able to oust rebels from the most populous city of Aleppo, which is almost fully under rebel control.

"The opposition pretty much owns Syria," said Michael Weiss, research director at the UK-based Henry Jackson Society. "The regime hardcore -- they are in the red in the ledger now, not in the black."

The rebels have now emerged as a "quasi-professional army." He said their advances have made make it "much easier to impose a no-fly zone in the north of Syria" -- if that happens.

Yet, the Syrian military hopes to gain advantage with its superior firepower by locking down key urban centers, such as Damascus and Homs.

But Weiss notes that the government hasn't had a major military victory in the north of Syria for months, and the rebels have effectively encircled Damascus.

It also hasn't embarked on major ground offensives, like the one in Aleppo earlier this year. Such activity puts the army at risk of more defections and desertions.

Frustration, optimism

As analysts study every move by the rebels and government forces to determine Syria's endgame, the people living there -- some filled with hope, others mired in frustration -- want to know when it will end.

Echoing a common sentiment among many Syrians, a Syrian blogger in Homs, who calls himself "Big Al," says recent attempts by the international community are all too little, too late.

"Syrians are doing things on their own and no one will help them," he told CNN.

"The world watched and is still watching Syrians get slaughtered and did nothing and will continue to do nothing, so empty threats mean nothing to us," he said.

He dismissed recent reports that NATO had approved deploying Patriot missiles near the Turkey-Syrian border as an "empty threat." He also rejected the recent outcry over the threat of chemical weapons against Syrians, saying, "the only reason they're saying these threats is to pretend that they might actually do something and they won't."

"They only don't want chemical weapons to be used against Israel but I know, and everyone here knows, that if they were used against Syrians, nothing will happen and no threats will come true."

In Damascus, Leena remains optimistic about an impending rebel victory -- but she admits that the nearly two-year-long road to revolution has changed her and others risking their lives for a new Syria.

Back then, they were idealists, beginner revolutionaries.

"You want your freedom, democracy, better healthcare, work, education," she said. "We wanted dignity."

She loved her life before, but she is going to love it even more when the rebels win.

Because they will win, she insists. Soon.

"Haven't we shown that?" she asked. "Doesn't the world understand that by now?"