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Executive Summary for February 27th

To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.

Published on Feb. 27, 2014 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Syria Ships Mustard Gas to Port to Be Destroyed

The New York Times reports that the Syrian government has shipped a “significant consignment” of mustard gas, a deadly toxic agent, to the port of Latakia to be destroyed. Syria had committed to export its deadliest agents by the end of 2013 and the remainder by Feb. 6.

“Sigrid Kaag, the coordinator of the international mission of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, called the delivery ‘an important step’ toward eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons in the middle of the three-year-old civil war there.

“The latest shipment came after a series of meetings at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in recent days, aimed at resolving a rift between Syria and its allies, notably Russia, Iran and China, and most Western governments over how to deal with the failure of President Bashar al-Assad’s government to honor deadlines for disposing of the arsenal, which came to about 1,200 tons of deadly chemical agents and materials used to compose those weapons.

“Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the organization based in The Hague, welcomed the latest shipment as ‘encouraging,’ but added, ‘Much work nonetheless remains to be done, and we look to the Syrian government to accelerate its efforts to transfer the remaining chemicals in regular, predictable and systematic movements.’”

Hezbollah Takes Lead in Pounding Syrian Rebels

Hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside Assad, says it is winning battles against the opposition by pouring fighters into remote regions where the Sunni Muslim rebels have been strongest.

USA Today reports that “the latest may be in Ghouta, a region just east of Damascus, where 175 rebels were killed in an ongoing battle, according to SANA, the Syrian state-controlled news agency.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group opposed to Assad, told the paper that “Hezbollah was the main group that implemented the ambush.”

The group “said its contacts inside Syria report that the fighting was led by Hezbollah in tandem with Syrian government forces. A Hezbollah commander interviewed by USA Today confirmed that the group is taking the lead now in many battles in Syria. ‘We have recaptured about 70% of the Qalamoun territories,’ said Abou Ali, a Hezbollah commander on a brief respite in Beirut.”

Pro-Assad Forces Kill 175 Rebels in Ambush: Syrian State Media

Reuters, quoting Syrian state media, reports that Hezbollah in fact spearheaded an operation that killed 175 Islamist rebel fighters, most of them foreigners, in the opposition-held eastern outskirts of Damascus.

“Lebanon’s Al Manar television, which Hezbollah operates, broadcast images of dozens of bodies of men strewn along a rural road running through open fields near Otaiba, a town in the Eastern Ghouta area outside Damascus,” the wire says.

“It said the Islamists were ambushed as they tried to leave the area to join fighting in other regions. But there were few other details on the attack and none of the reports said when it happened. The ambush would be a significant advance for President Bashar al-Assad’s efforts to cement his hold of the capital and surrounding roads, if the scale of the casualties is confirmed.”

Food Line in Yarmouk Camp Shows Residents’ Desperation

The Guardian reports on a widely circulated photo, released Wednesday by UNRWA, of civilians lined up for food aid at the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp outside of Damascus.

“It is a vision of unimaginable desolation: a crowd of men, women and children stretching as far as the eye can see,” the paper says, showing the scene when “thousands of desperate Palestinians trapped inside the camp on the edge of the Syrian capital emerged to besiege aid workers attempting to distribute food parcels.

“More than 18,000 people are existing under blockade inside Yarmouk, enduring acute shortages of food, medicines and other essentials. Much of the camp has been destroyed by shelling, and attempts to deliver aid to those inside have been hampered by continued fighting in Syria’s three-year-old civil war.

“United Nations workers have delivered about 7,000 food parcels over recent weeks, following negotiations between the Syrian government, rebel forces and Palestinian factions within the camp. The most recent delivery, of 450 parcels, was on Wednesday. The U.N. acknowledges that the level of aid is a ‘drop in the ocean.’

“Yarmouk has been cut off since last July. Many residents are now weak and severely malnourished, as well as being exposed to the risk of disease, or death and injury from fighting.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team

NY Times: Kerry Sees Syria Retaliation Against Rivals in Talks

Reuters: Syria Agrees New April  Target to Remove Chemicals

Foreign Policy: How Food Became Syria’s Next Battlefield

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