27 regime soldiers killed in rebel ambush
Al Assad troops and Russians poised to snuff out resistance in Dera’a, cradle of revolt
Rebels and Islamist forces killed more than two dozen pro-government fighters in a joint attack in a northwestern stronghold of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime, a monitor said yesterday.
In retaliation, the government and its ally Russia pounded rebel-held areas in the coastal province of Latakia and neighbouring Idlib on Tuesday, killing four civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It was the bloodiest opposition assault on the area in three years, according to the Britainbased monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside the country.
The surprise offensive late on Monday targeted a pair of villages and observation points in Latakia, near the Turkish border.
“At least 27 regime forces and allied fighters, including eight officers, were killed in fierce clashes and shelling in the village of Al Ateira,” said Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman.
“They took Al Ateira and kicked out regime forces from several observation points after killing or wounding them.”
Another 40 government loyalists were wounded and six rebels were killed, he said. Al Ateira lies about two kilometres south of the Turkish border.
Surrounded
Meanwhile, Al Assad is poised to snuff out the Syrian rebellion in the place it first began more than seven years ago, as rebels in Dara’a city enter talks with his Russian allies on withdrawing or accepting a return of state authority.
Regime forces backed by Russia have seized most of Dara’a province in the campaign that got under way last month and, on Monday, encircled rebel-held parts of Dara’a city and seized the entire Jordanian frontier that was once in opposition hands. Al Assad, whose control was once reduced to a fraction of Syria, now holds the largest chunk of the country with crucial help from his Russian ■ and Iranian allies. Dara’a was the scene of the first antiAl Assad protests that spiralled into a war now estimated to have killed half a million people. The conflict has driven over 11 million people from their homes, with some 5.6 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring states alone and many more in Europe.
Rebels holed up in part of Dara’a city are due to hold talks with Russian officers yesterday, a spokesperson for the rebels, Abu Shaimaa, said. Some are seeking evacuation to opposition-held areas of the north while others are negotiating to remain as a local security force, he said.
“Today there is a session with the Russians over the forced displacement,” he said in a text message, referring to the expected evacuation of a yet-to-determined number of rebels to opposition areas of the northwest at the border with Turkey.
A pro-Syrian government newspaper, Al Watan, said “the coming hours will be decisive on the level of ending the chapter of terrorism in Dara’a city.”
As Al Assad pushes for outright military victory, there seems little hope of a negotiated peace settlement to the conflict.
The north and much of the east however remain outside his control and the presence of US and Turkish forces in those areas will complicate further advances for Damascus. Government forces began thrusting into Dara’a province last month. Heavily outgunned rebels surrendered quickly in some places as the United States, which once armed them, told opposition forces not to expect its intervention. Dara’a rebels agreed to a wider ceasefire deal brokered by Russia last Friday and to surrender the province in phases.