Surprise attack by rebel forces as Syria peace talks loom

SYRIAN rebel groups have launched a second surprise offensive in a “new battle” for east Damascus.

The attack, which began at dawn near the Jobar and Qaboun neighbourhoods, left 12 people wounded.

Rebels from Jobar had managed briefly to open a corridor to Qaboun, a besieged opposition-held district, in a lightning offensive on Sunday.

They were beaten back by heavy airstrikes and, on Monday night, the Syrian government announced it had retaken all territory temporarily lost.

The rebel Free Syrian Army, which is fighting alongside militant groups including the Failaq al-Rahman group and the formerly al-Qaeda affiliated Fateh al-Sham, said the attacks were only the “first phase” of a new battle for east Damascus. The group said it had seized a large number of weapons and thrown government troops “into a state of chaos and confusion, causing them to deploy tanks in the streets of Damascus”.

The attacks came as the UN announced that the Syrian government and rebel delegations would take part in peace talks in Geneva this week.

Staffan de Mistura, its special envoy for Syria, will visit key outside powers shaping the conflict, including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey, before returning to Geneva to chair the talks.

Several opposition delegations refused to attend parallel Russian and Turkish brokered negotiations in Kazakhstan last week, citing ceasefire violations by the Syrian regime.

Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of failing to observe a shaky ceasefire that came into effect at the end of 2016.