Syria besieged on eve of civil war’s 7th year

Government forces battled with rebels and al Qaeda militants on two fronts in Syria on Sunday as the country prepared to close out another violent year since the country descended into civil war in 2011.

Rebels supported by an al Qaedalinked cell renewed their assault against pro-government forces that have been holding a vast pocket of the Damascus suburbs under siege, said the Britain-based Syrian Ob- servatory for Human Rights.

A second front between many of the same groups saw fresh fighting in northwest Syria, along the border between Idlib and Hama provinces, according to the Observatory and Syrian military media.

The fighting outside Damascus was concentrated around the contested town of Harasta and a nearby military installation. The insurgents flanked the installation on Sunday, trapping an unknown number of pro-government forces inside, reported the Observatory. The local, activist-run Ghouta Media Center reported fierce clashes and dense government airstrikes.

Twenty-one soldiers and 26 rebels and al Qaeda fighters were killed in two days of clashes, according to the Observatory.

Rebels first attacked the installation seven weeks ago. The govern- ment responded with waves of indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery attacks that killed more than 250 civilians in Damascus’ rebel-held eastern suburbs.

The Syrian Civil Defense searchand-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, said shelling and rocket fire killed 19 people there on Saturday, one day after medical evacuations were completed to save the lives of 29 civilians.