Syria army, allies retake Albu Kamal from IS
DAMASCUS: The United Nations on Sunday called on Syria’s warring sides to stop targeting civilians in the capital Damascus and nearby neighbourhoods, where escalating bombardment has killed dozens in recent days.
Rebel groups and regime forces are locked in a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks around Damascus and in the opposition-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.
On Sunday, UN coordinator for humanitarian and development affairs in Syria Ali al Zaatari called on “all warring sides to avoid targeting civilians”.
“For days, there have been daily reports about civilians being killed and others being severely wounded, in addition to warehouses, hospitals and schools being put out of service during the exchange of shellfire, particularly in Damascus and Eastern Ghouta,” Zaatari said. His comments in Arabic came in a statement e-mailed to AFP.
Government forces have escalated their bombardment of Eastern Ghouta, an opposition stronghold outside Damascus, since hardline rebel group Ahrar al Sham attacked a military base in the area last week.
Since Tuesday, heavy artillery fire and air strikes on Eastern Ghouta have killed at least 66 civilians including 13 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
At least 281 people have been wounded, the Britain-based monitor said on Sunday. DEIR EZZOR: The Syrian army and loyalist militiamen on Sunday retook full control of Albu Kamal from the IS group, a military source said, ousting the extremists from their last urban stronghold in Syria.
Albu Kamal has changed hands several times, with government forces announcing the capture of the town near the Iraqi border earlier this month but losing it to a blistering IS counter-attack a week ago.
“Syrian troops and allied forces took full control of Albu Kamal, and are removing mines and explosives left by IS,” the military
Rebel groups meanwhile have fired rockets into Damascus neighbourhoods, killing at least 16 people since Thursday, the Observatory said.
The toll included two people killed by rocket fire on Sunday.
“The United Nations hopes for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of secure humanitarian corridors to evacuate wounded, sick, and elderly people, as well as children, as soon as possible from areas seeing source in Deir Ezzor said on Sunday. “IS put up fierce resistance and tried to use explosives and suicide bombers, but besieging the city allowed the army to clinch the offensive and take full control of the city,” the source added.
State news agency SANA also reported the advance in Albu Kamal, saying the “Syrian army and its allies eliminated the last Daesh (IS) terrorist pocket in the town.”
A string of territorial defeats across northern and eastern Syria had left Albu Kamal as the last significant Syrian town held by IS. hostile operations,” Zaatari said.
He called for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those who need it across the country.
Eastern Ghouta is supposed to be part of a “de-escalation zone” under a deal between Russia, Iran and Turkey aimed at reducing the level of violence.
President Bashar al Assad’s forces have besieged Eastern Ghouta since 2013, making humanitarian conditions in the area, where some 400,000 people live, dire.