Assad visits army in eastern Ghouta
DAMASCUS — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday visited Syrian soldiers who appear close to defeating the last major opposition foothold near Damascus and met some of the many thousands of people uprooted during the government offensive.
Meanwhile figures close to rebels said talks were underway with the aim of them leaving to other opposition areas or giving up arms, though rebels have publicly ruled out the kind of negotiated withdrawal that helped government troops recover Aleppo, Homs and other areas.
Troops have splintered Ghouta into three besieged zones in one of the bloodiest offensives of the seven-year war, with rebels facing their worst defeat since the battle of Aleppo in 2016.
The Syrian government has sought to drive a wedge between rival rebels who control different parts of eastern Ghouta. By working on separate secret talks with rebels in each region by applying varying degrees of military pressure, the government’s “divide and rule” tactics were beginning to bear fruit, one opposition source said.
“The army advances in recent days have piled pressure on the factions and every party wants to get the best deal possible,” the source said without elaborating.
In a sign of confidence, Assad on Sunday visited front line troops and people recently displaced from eastern Ghouta, Syrian state media said and published footage and pictures of the meetings.
“Every bullet you have fired to kill a terrorist, you were changing the balance of the world, and every tank driver advancing a meter forward, he was changing the political map of the world,” state news agency SANA reported Assad as saying.
The report didn’t divulge the exact location Assad has visited, but said it was in the “depth of Ghouta”.
The president added that “we congratulate all the Syrians with this victory and we are proud of every hero of the heroes of the Syrian army”.
After a morning of calm, shelling and ground battles resumed across eastern Ghouta on Sunday afternoon, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Returning homes
The Syrian army on Sunday captured the town of Saqba in eastern Ghouta and civilians started returning immediately to their homes.
The Syrian soldiers were fanning out in the area and the civilians who remained in the area welcomed the soldiers.
Meanwhile, civilians who had evacuated Saqba hours ahead of its liberation, immediately started returning to their homes in that area before they could even reach shelters outside eastern Ghouta.
The town has sustained damage during the battles, with many buildings either largely or partially destroyed but the people seemed relieved that safety has returned.
Abu Hisham was standing next to his apartment building, chatting with a Syrian soldier while holding his son.
“We hope to live in happiness and to have our lives back because we have suffered a lot over the past seven years from the hunger, horror, and siege,” he said.
Other civilians expressed relief that their area is no longer a battle zone.
Abu Alaa’, another resident of Saqba, said they can finally breathe “after seven years of hunger, siege, humiliation, agony, and thank God we have been liberated from terrorism.”
“The terrorists have destroyed the area and suffocated us,” he said.