Syrian troops advance in rebel-held region
UN hopes to deliver aid to 70,000 people in eastern Ghouta
BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed Sunday to continue with a military offensive in a rebel-held region near the capital, as troops and allied militias captured a number of villages and towns in the largest advance since a wide-scale operation began last month.
Speaking to a small group of reporters in Damascus, Assad said the five-hour daily “humanitarian pause” in eastern Ghouta would continue, to allow for any civilians wishing to leave the area to do so. “There is no contradiction between the truce and the military operation,” he added.
Assad also denied that the Syrian government carried out toxic gas attacks, describing such reports as part of the western countries’ “dictionary of lies.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations said it planned to deliver aid to 70,000 people in the region starting Monday after it received approval from the government to move in. UN officials had said lack of approvals and consensus among the warring parties, as well as the limited duration of the five-hour Russian-ordered humanitarian pause, had made aid delivery impossible.
Syria’s Central Military Media said government forces captured at least six villages and towns along the edge of eastern Ghouta in the advance that began late Saturday. The Central Military Media later said the troops continued their movement, reaching the outskirts of Mesraba, in central Ghouta.
The military advances come amid reports of wide-scale internal displacement as civilians flee government forces.
A reporter from state-run AlIkhbariyah TV accompanied the troops and broadcast from Nashabiyah, a village on the southeastern edge of eastern Ghouta. The reporter said the Syrian troops had crossed a “moat” and seized around 12 square kilometres. The advance was backed by intense shelling and airstrikes.
Rebel factions said they launched a counteroffensive Sunday, sending fighters behind government lines in a series of attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels regained control of at least one town and fighting continued.
The Observatory and the Syrian Civil Defence said civilians had fled their homes because of the advancing troops, with many of them taking cover in underground shelters. “It is a scorchedearth policy,” said Ghouta-based activist Nour Adam. “People are moving out because of the relentless bombing.”
Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, has been under a crippling siege and daily bombardment for months. More than 600 civilians have been killed in the last two weeks alone.
Hamza Beriqdar, spokesperson of the main rebel faction in Ghouta called the Army of Islam, said in an audio recording shared on social media that the opposition fighters had to retreat from some areas in eastern Ghouta amid a hail of fire from artillery shelling, airstrikes and helicopter attacks, also calling it a “scorched earth policy.” He said the rebels are regrouping and will continue to fight, and he called on civilians in Ghouta not to lose faith or criticize rebel fighters to keep a unified front and maintain morale.
Meanwhile, no civilians have left Ghouta through a humanitarian corridor set up by Russia and the Syrian government nearly a week ago. Russia has accused the rebels of preventing civilians from leaving, which insurgents have denied. The rebels say the humanitarian corridor is part of government efforts to forcibly displace the population, and have called on government forces to implement a full ceasefire adopted by the UN Security Council.
The White House condemned the offensive in eastern Ghouta, saying Sunday that the Syrian campaign backed by Russia and Iran is killing “innocent civilians under the false auspices of counterterrorism operations.”