Syrian Government and Allies Take Control of Main Aleppo Water Source

Pro-government forces have taken control of the main water-pumping and treatment station that supplies Aleppo, Reuters reported.

An advance by pro-government forces against the so-called Islamic State has reached the western banks of the Euphrates River, where the water pump is located. The ISIS militants withdrew as Syrian and Russian warplanes targeted the countryside east of Aleppo city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group (SOHR).

Aleppo has been without its main water supply for the past two months, with residents relying largely on wells or packaged water sold privately.

ISIS is losing territory to three separate and simultaneous offensives in Syria.

Iraq Will Continue Targeting ISIS in Syria, Prime Minister Says

Iraq will continue to target the so-called Islamic State in Syria and in other countries that allow it to do so, said Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

“I respect the sovereignty of states, and I have secured the approval of Syria to strike positions (on its territory),” he said.

The first Iraqi airstrike on Syrian territory was announced on February 24, in response to ISIS bomb attacks on Baghdad.

“I will not hesitate to strike the positions of the terrorists in the neighboring countries, we will keep on fighting them,” Abadi said.

A U.S.-backed offensive is targeting ISIS in Mosul, the group’s last stronghold in Iraq.

Clashes Around Damascus Continue Despite Several Cease-Fires

Clashes around the Syrian capital continue despite a new Russian-brokered cease-fire, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The Russian defense ministry announced a government cease-fire with rebel-held Eastern Ghouta on Tuesday, saying it would last till March 20. However, government raids continued to target neighborhoods in Eastern Ghouta, as well as opposition-controlled neighborhoods with long-standing truces with the government such as Qaboun, Barzeh and Tishreen.

Reports say 25 people have been injured or killed within the first 24 hours of this new cease-fire, according to SOHR. The Damascus suburbs were theoretically included in a December 30 cease-fire brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran, but clashes and government bombardment of the district have continued.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The Washington Post: Turkey Shuts Down a U.S. Aid Group That Helped Syrians
• Save the Children: Invisible Wounds
• Syria Direct: Empty Shelves at Tartus Pharmacies as War Cripples Syria’s Pharmaceutical Industry
• The New York Times: Top U.S. General Discusses Syria With Counterparts From Russia and Turkey
• Middle East Eye: New ‘Caliphate’ Rises in South Syria as I.S. Loses Grip on the North