Government Offensive on Douma Intensifies
Government attacks on the rebel-held town of Douma outside the capital continue daily despite a nationwide truce, Al Jazeera reported.
Located in the Eastern Ghouta, Douma is the largest rebel-held district in the Damascus suburbs and has been under siege by pro-government forces since 2013.
A nationwide cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey on December 30 has not stopped the government offensive on Douma, despite the district’s main rebel faction, Jaish al-Islam, being included by the Russian defense military in the list of rebels covered by the truce.
Health workers in Douma told Al Jazeera that they have moved most field clinics to basements amid continued government bombardment. They fear medical supplies will run out soon.
The recent cease-fire does not include ISIS or the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria now known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.
U.S. Operation in Syria Kills ISIS Leaders
The U.S.-led coalition in Syria conducted a “successful” raid against leaders of the so-called Islamic State according to a Pentagon statement on Monday, Agence France-Presse reported.
Navy captain Jeff Davis said special operation troops known as the “Expeditionary Targeting Force” (ETF) carried out an operation “focused on ISIL [aka ISIS] leadership” in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.
Located near the Iraqi border, Deir Ezzor’s government-held provincial capital has been under siege by ISIS since early 2015.
In the operation, 25 jihadists were killed, according to the United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Davis said this number is “grossly exaggerated.”
The operation targeted militant vehicles with leading ISIS figures coming from Raqqa, the extremists’ de facto capital since January 2014. Several leaders were killed and others taken prisoner, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key ground ally of the U.S.-led coalition. The SDF is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces fighting ISIS.
Davis denied the operation took any prisoners, saying there was “no detention from this operation.” The goals of the attack, Davis added, were to hit ISIS leadership and gather intelligence.
Bombing of Eastern Aleppo Was Justified, Assad Says
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said that the bombing of eastern Aleppo was “justified” in an interview with French media published on Monday, BBC News reported.
Syrian government and allied forces recaptured eastern parts of Aleppo city last month following a four-year battle with rebel forces. The U.N. stated that air raids on the city’s eastern neighborhoods, which had a high civilian density, could constitute a war crime.
“This is the price sometimes, but at the end, the people are liberated from the terrorists,” Assad said. The Syrian government uses the term “terrorist” for all opposition groups.
Supported by Russian warplanes and Iranian-backed militias, pro-government forces took control of the whole of Aleppo city in December following a five-month siege. More than 38,000 residents of eastern Aleppo fled to the government-held western districts, according to the U.N. The remaining 36,000 residents, including civilians, rebels and their families, were evacuated to neighboring rebel-held areas in Aleppo province and Idlib province.
At least 21,500 civilians were killed in Aleppo from 2012 to 2016, according to SOHR. The death of civilians is “painful for us as Syrians to see,” Assad said. “Every war is bad.”
RECOMMENDED READS:
- Financial Times: The Black Market Trade in ISIS Fighters
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- Jacobin: Syria and the Left
- NPR: In Ancient Syrian City, Fighting Has Stopped but Rebuilding Is Scarce