Disarm or withdraw, Russia, Assad warn rebel group near Damascus
beirut — Syrian rebels in a besieged area northeast of Damascus have been told they must accept state rule or leave, a rebel group said on Tuesday, as the government and its Russian ally seek to wipe out the last pockets of opposition territory near the capital.
The ultimatum to the rebels of eastern Qalamoun was served to civilians from the area during a meeting with a Russian colonel and an officer from the Syrian Air Force Intelligence, rebel spokesman Said Saif of the Martyr Ahmad Abdo told.
The area is 40km from Damascus and separate from eastern Ghouta — an area right next to the capital where government forces have routed rebels in recent weeks, forcing thousands to accept safe passage out towards the Turkish border.
An opposition source said talks over the densely-populated town of Douma, the last rebel pocket of eastern Ghouta, had yet to be concluded, at odds with state media reports that the group holed up inside — Jaish Al Islam — had accepted a deal to leave. President
A clear message was sent to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in the area: either reconciliation and disarmament — handing weapons to the Syrian government as the Russians describe it — or departing eastern Qalamoun Said Saif, rebel spokesman
Bashar Al Assad, his military position secure thanks to Russia and Iran, is seeking to crush the last pockets of opposition to his rule near the main cities of western Syria. The rebel enclave in eastern Qalamoun includes several towns and a barren expanse of mountainous territory.
“A clear message was sent to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in the area: either reconciliation and disarmament — handing weapons to the Syrian government as the Russians describe it — or departing eastern Qalamoun,” Saif said in separate comments to Al Hadath TV.
Saif said rebels had made a proposal under which they would withdraw from the towns into the mountains and civilians would stay, and Russia’s response was being awaited. He said the aim was to avoid the “forced displacement” of people that had occurred in other areas recovered by the Syrian government.
. Saif told Reuters the civilians who met the Russian and Syrian military officers had expressed concern that a departure of rebel fighters would leave them vulnerable to attack by militants from Nusra Front or Daesh.
The Syrian war last month entered its eighth year having killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced 11 million from their homes, including nearly six million who have fled abroad.
While Assad now controls the single largest chunk of Syria, it may prove difficult for him to regain much more territory without colliding with the interests of foreign states, notably Turkey and the United States. —