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BROWSE THE SYRIA DEEPLY ARCHIVES

Executive Summary for October 2nd

We review the key developments in Syria, including government gains and losses near Deir Ezzor, continued air raids on Idlib province and reports that pro-government forces have captured more positions along Syria’s border with Jordan.

Published on Oct. 2, 2017 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Pro-Government Forces Secure Strategic Highway, Lose Ground in Homs

Pro-government forces secured the Damascus-Deir Ezzor highway on Friday, one day after their main supply lines into eastern Syria were threatened by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), Reuters reported.

On Thursday, ISIS seized the town of al-Shola on the main highway linking Deir Ezzor to the capital Damascus, almost three weeks after pro-government forces captured the town and breached a three-year militant siege of the eastern city.

The capture of al-Shola and militant attacks in the Syrian desert near Deir Ezzor threatened to cut government supply lines on the Damascus-Deir Ezzor highway. But Syrian troops and allied forces defeated ISIS’s first major counterattack near Deir Ezzor by recapturing the strategic highway on Friday, Reuters said, citing a Hezbollah media unit.

Despite the government’s gain, ISIS continued its counterattack in a desert region near Deir Ezzor this weekend.

Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Reuters said on Sunday that ISIS fighters had captured the town of Qaryatayn in Homs province from pro-government forces as part of the militant offensive.

The town, located 190 miles (300km) from Deir Ezzor city, had been captured by government forces six months ago.

ISIS attacks near Deir Ezzor come at a time when pro-government forces are trying to enforce a siege on militants in Deir Ezzor city.

Air Raids Kill More than 20 Civilians in Idlib

Airstrikes on the insurgent-held province of Idlib on Saturday killed at least 28 civilians, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack targeted the town of Amanaz, located only a few miles from Turkey’s southern border. It was not immediately clear whether Russian or Syrian government warplanes were behind Saturday’s attack.

The northern province of Idlib witnessed a period of calm after it was designated a de-escalation zone in May, but fierce bombardment has resumed there in recent weeks. Russian warplanes have carried out an intense campaign of airstrikes as part of a counterattack against a militant offensive on government positions in nearby Hama last month.

Separately, at least 3,000 people including 955 civilians were killed in September, making it the deadliest month in 2017, Agence France-Presse said on Sunday, citing the SOHR.

“More than 70 percent of the civilians were killed in regime and Russian airstrikes or in air raids of the international coalition” fighting ISIS, Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the SOHR, told AFP.

Pro-Government Forces Capture Territory on Syria’s Southern Frontier

A Hezbollah media unit said on Saturday that pro-Syrian government forces captured nine positions along Syria’s southern border with Jordan, Reuters reported.

The captured positions southeast of the capital Damascus are the latest in a string of government gains along its southern frontier.

Fighting has significantly decreased in southern Syria since a cease-fire agreement brokered by Russia, the United States and Jordan went into effect in July.

In recent weeks, Jordanian officials have discussed the possibility of reopening Jordan’s border with Syria and have urged allied Syrian rebel groups to withdraw from positions along the shared frontier.

But the Associated Press said on Monday that Amman is still seeking guarantees from the Syrian government, Russia and Iran that allied opposition fighters and civilians will not be harmed as government forces continue to advance along the southern frontier. The kingdom also wants to keep Iranian-backed forces away from Jordan’s border, the AP said.

Separately, a Human Rights Watch report on Monday accused the Jordanian government of deporting 400 Syrian refugees a month since the beginning of 2017, the AP said.

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