Military attacks in East Ghouta: Syrian forces 'natural progress'
The Syrian army is making significant progress in its bid to seize the rebel-held area of the East Ghouta, reports say.
They managed to traverse the region's biggest city, Douma, and isolate other areas, according to the UK-based human rights monitoring agency Syria (SOHR).
This effective Syrian military action will cause the East Ghouta region to be divided into three parts.
The Syrian government has begun holding a large-scale military offensive since last month to retake East Ghouta, which is near the capital Damascus.
Since then they reportedly managed to control half of the region, in a military operation that resulted in about 1,000 civilians killed in the past three weeks, according to SOHR.
The UN says the Assad bomb attack "is unacceptable", saying "collective punishment of civilians is totally unacceptable".
Syrian troops are accused of targeting civilians as targets, but they insist it seeks to liberate the area of Ghouta, one of the strongest insurgent pockets, which they claim to be terrorists.
What's happening on the field?
The Syrian military offensive in East Ghouta resulted in the area being fragmented and isolated. In doing so, this effort could bypass support and relief supplies for the rebel group, says the BBC Arab journalist Sebastian Usher. Apparently, the target of the Syrian government is reached.
The Syrian government is also reported to have controlled downtown Misraba, and continues to move towards the surrounding agricultural areas.
The city of Misraba is located along the main road connecting Douma, in the north, with another big city, Harasta, in the west.
Although not yet confirmed, progress means the Syrian army will cause the enclave to be divided into three - Douma and surrounding towns in the north, Harasta in the west, and other areas in the south.
Syrian government television also said its forces had controlled East Ghouta, but a spokesman for one of the rebel groups told Reuters news agency that the towns of Harael and Douma were still under his control.
Meanwhile, the opposition's official website announced that the armed forces of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group had arrived in Hama province of East Ghouta, a day after the evacuation agreement was reached.
On Friday a United Nations convoy succeeded in sending aid to East Ghouta, after the previous shipment was halted by fire.
So far about 400,000 people still survive in the East Ghouta region, seven years since the civil war broke out in Syria. They are in a position surrounded by Syrian government forces since 2013.
Link source
http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/dunia-43361438
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