Syrian Military Cmdr.: Army to Divide Eastern Ghouta in Two

Local Editor

The Syrian army is poised to slice eastern Ghouta in two as forces advancing from the east link up with troops at the enclave's western edge, a Syrian military commander said Thursday.

The advance puts the zone effectively under Syrian government control as the remaining strip of territory was within weapons range.

The Syrian government is seeking to crush the last major militant enclave near Damascus in a ferocious campaign.

Defeat in eastern Ghouta would mark the worst setback for rebels since the opposition was driven from eastern Aleppo in late 2016 after a similar campaign of siege, bombing, ground assaults and the promise of safe passage out.

The Syrian commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed a report by the UK-based so-called Syrian Observatory late on Wednesday that the enclave had effectively been sliced in two.

An aid convoy that intended to go to Ghouta later Thursday was postponed, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations said.

Russia has offered the militants safe passage out with their families and personal weapons. The proposal echoes previous agreements under which insurgents, in the face of military defeat, were permitted to withdraw to militant-held areas along the Turkish border.

Russia's defense ministry said Wednesday some militants wanted to accept the proposal to evacuate. So far militants have dismissed it in public and vowed to fight on.

The remaining sliver of territory separating forces advancing from the east and west is effectively a no-go zone because it is all within range of government fire, making it impossible for insurgents to cross between the northern and southern parts of the enclave, the commander said.

In military terms, that meant the territory had been bisected, the commander told Reuters.

Moscow and Damascus say the Ghouta campaign is necessary to halt deadly militant shelling of the capital.

The UN Security Council called on Wednesday for the implementation of a Feb. 24 resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire across Syria and it voiced concern about the country's humanitarian plight.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team