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Executive Summary for March 5th

We review the key developments in Syria, including advances by government forces in Eastern Ghouta, Turkey killing pro-government fighters in Afrin and the White House accusing Moscow of killing civilians in Syria.

Published on March 5, 2018 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Assad Vows to Push Ahead With Eastern Ghouta Offensive

President Bashar al-Assad vowed on Sunday to continue military operations in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus as pro-government forces seized a string of towns and villages in the area, the Associated Press reported.

He also told reporters that a daily five-hour cessation of hostilities ordered by Russia will continue, to allow for civilian evacuations and aid deliveries despite ongoing military operations in the region. “There is no contradiction between the truce and the military operation,” he was quoted as saying.

His comments come after Syrian troops and allied forces captured at least six towns and villages along the edge of Eastern Ghouta in an advance that began late Saturday, the AP said, citing pro-government media.

The United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claims pro-government forces are now within 2 miles (3km) of the suburb of Douma, Agence-France Presse reported.

Citing an unidentified commander in the “military alliance that backs Assad,” Reuters said that pro-government forces needed to advance just “few more kilometers … to split the enclave in two.”

The SOHR claims that more than one-third of Eastern Ghouta has fallen under government control since pro-government forces launched a ground assault on the enclave one week ago, Reuters said. Government advances have forced thousands of people to flee toward western parts of the besieged enclave.

Meanwhile airstrikes and artillery attacks on Eastern Ghouta killed 34 people including 11 children on Sunday, AFP said, citing the SOHR. More than 650 civilians have been killed in the region since the government stepped up attacks on the enclave some two weeks ago, AFP said.

There are 400,000 people trapped in Eastern Ghouta with little access to medicine or aid. An aid convoy consisting of 46 truckloads starting entering the area on Monday with health and nutrition supplies and food for 27,500 people, according to the BBC.

The aid is the first to reach the region since mid-February.

Turkish Airstrikes on Afrin Kill Scores of Pro-Government Fighters

At least 36 pro-government fighters were killed in Turkish airstrikes on the Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Saturday, Agence France-Presse said, citing the SOHR.

Saturday’s attack on pro-government forces – who had entered Afrin in recent weeks to bolster Kurdish forces battling Turkish troops and allied rebels – was the third such attack on Assad loyalists in 48 hours, the SOHR said.

Turkish raids on parts of the enclave killed 14 fighters on Thursday and four more on Friday, AFP said, citing the SOHR.

The pro-government forces consist primarily of militias loyal to the Syrian government but do not include Syrian troops.

Meanwhile, Turkish soldiers and allied rebels captured the town of Rajo in northwestern Afrin from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia on Saturday. The advance means that Turkish forces are now in control of more than 20 percent of the Kurdish enclave, AFP said. It also puts Turkish forces within a few miles of Afrin city, according to the SOHR.

Turkish troops have been fighting the YPG in Afrin since they launched “Operation Olive Branch” in late January. Turkey views the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has carried out a number of attacks inside Turkey in recent weeks.

Washington Accuses Russia of Targeting Civilians in Syria

The White House on Sunday accused Russia of flying bombing missions over Eastern Ghouta in violation of a Security Council resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire in the region, Reuters reported.

The U.S. claimed that Russia flew at least 20 daily bombing missions in Damascus and Eastern Ghouta between Feb. 24 and Feb. 28.

“Russia has gone on to ignore (a U.N. cease-fire’s) terms and to kill innocent civilians under the false auspices of counter-terrorism operations,” the White House said in a statement.

Reuters described the White House statement as the “strongest accusation to date of Moscow’s complicity in civilian deaths in Syria.”

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