Assad Appoints New Ministers to Top Government Posts

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Monday replacing his government’s ministers of information, defense and industry, Reuters reported, citing Syrian state media.

The reason behind the reshuffle was not immediately clear. But changes in senior ministerial posts are not uncommon in Syria.

General Ali Abdullah Ayoub, previously chief of staff in the army, replaced Fahad Jassim al-Freij as defense minister. Imad Abdullah Sarah, previously the head of Syria radio and television was appointed as information minister and Mohammed Mazen Ali Yousef as industry minister.

The move comes weeks before Russia is expected to host peace talks between Syria’s warring parties in the city of Sochi.

Medical Evacuations Outside Capital Completed but Fighting Continues

Medical workers completed the evacuation of critically ill civilians from the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs of the capital on Friday, Agence France-Presse reported.

The evacuation of 13 civilians happened early Friday, bringing the total number of medical evacuees to 29 since transfers first started last Tuesday.

The evacuees are among some of the most critical cases on a United Nations list of 500 civilians who could die in the besieged enclave if they did not receive urgent medical care.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting broke out in the Eastern Ghouta between government forces and rebels on Monday as troops tried to reach pro-government forces trapped inside a military installation near the suburb of Harasta, according to the Associated Press.

Citing the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the AP said that 35 civilians, 24 government troops and 29 insurgents have been killed since battles between pro-government forces and insurgent forces – including the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance – first broke out on Saturday.

On Sunday, HTS and other insurgent groups surrounded pro-government forces inside a military installation in Harasta after capturing parts of the facility.

An unidentified official with the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group, which is participating in the offensive, told the AP that negotiations with the government over the release of trapped pro-government forces have started.

Rebels Surrender Enclave Near Israeli Border

Rebels pinned down in a small enclave southwest of Damascus began to evacuate the area on Friday as part of a surrender deal with the Syrian government, Reuters reported.

Rebels and their families started leaving Beit Jinn after Syrian troops and Iran-backed paramilitaries working alongside Druze militias encircled them in their small bastion last week.

Reuters said that some were heading to Idlib, the only province in Syria under complete opposition control, while others were moving to the southwest.

Citing Syrian state media, the Associated Press said that some 300 insurgents and their families would be sent to Idlib and Daraa. The AP said at least 153 people, including 106 fighters, left Beit Jinn for the southern province of Daraa on Saturday.

The area around Beit Jinn is sensitive because of its proximity to the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. The evacuations would bring the strategic area under complete government control.

Recommended Reads

• The Financial Times: Syrian Government Steps up Offensive in Idlib
• Al-Monitor: What 2018 Looks Like for Russia, U.S. Regarding Syria
• The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Returns to Guerrilla Warfare in Iraq and Syria
• The New York Times: How the Security Council Failed the Syria Chemical Weapons Investigators and Victims
• The Independent: Preview 2018: After a String of Defeats in Iraq and Syria What 2018 Means for ISIS