Eight Killed in Government Airstrikes on Homs

At least eight people were killed in Syrian government airstrikes on a rebel-held district in Homs on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.

The opposition-held al-Waer neighborhood in Homs has largely been spared government attacks in recent months but witnessed a sudden escalation of hostilities yesterday.

Pro-government media accused rebel fighters of violating a fragile nationwide truce by shooting at government-held areas of Homs. At least one person was injured by rebel rocket fire on the government-held neighborhood of Abbasiya in Homs, according to the United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Al-Waer is one of few remaining rebel-held neighborhoods in Homs. The government has attempted to make a deal with rebels and their families in al-Waer to evacuate the area. Similar agreements in other parts of Syria have been reached after sometimes years-long battles and government siege, with rebels and their families leaving for opposition-held Idlib province.

These agreements are the “most effective way to end the war and move towards a political solution,” said Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, state news agency SANA reported.

Mine Explosions Kill Seven in Raqqa

Seven civilians were killed by two mine explosions in Raqqa province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Three women and a child attempting to flee Raqqa were killed by a mine explosion in the northern part of the province, as were two men and a child in the western countryside.

Located in northeastern Syria, Raqqa province is the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). The U.S.-led coalition and its local partners are advancing toward Raqqa and gradually besieging the area.

Turkish-Backed Operation Advances into Al-Bab

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have pushed into the ISIS-held city of al-Bab in northern Syria, BBC News reported.

The Turkish-backed operation “Euphrates Shield” has been attempting to take the city, located east of Aleppo, since late 2016. Turkish troops and Syrian rebels have taken the western outskirts of the city.

Pro-government troops also launched an offensive on al-Bab in recent weeks, and have closed in on the city from the southern side. Rebel and government troops are reportedly less than 2 miles (3km) away from each other.

The small town is of strategic importance to Ankara as the last significant ISIS stronghold near the Turkish border. The government joined the advance on al-Bab in an effort to consolidate its control of Aleppo and to stem Turkey’s military advances in northern Syria.

Although Turkey provides support to rebels fighting the Syrian government, the two countries have reportedly reached an agreement on al-Bab through their mutual ally, Russia.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• Agence France-Presse: The Last Days in Aleppo
• The Financial Times: The CIA’s Man in Syria
• Carnegie: The Jihadi Spiral
• The Los Angeles Times: It Was ‘One of the Most Beautiful Cities in the World.’ That Aleppo is Gone, but Its Residents Remember
• The New York Times: Battle to Retake Syrian City Turns Into a Geopolitical Test of the War