Syrian Rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra Make Advances in Daraa Province
Syrian rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra seized the southern town of Nawa, in Daraa province from government troops after months of intense fightingAFP reports.
Both local rebel groups and Jabhat al-Nusra claim credit for the offensive that left 19 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Nawa is in Daraa province bordering Jordan, Damascus province and Quneitra, which has a boundary on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,” wrote the monitoring group.
The development follows reports of rifts between Jabhat al-Nusra and moderate rebels after the jihadist group seized swaths of territory in the northwestern province of Idlib, routing rebels from their positions.
On Friday the al-Qaida linked fighters captured at least three villages – Safuhan, Fatira and Hazareen – from the Western-backed rebels in northwestern Syria,
The advance came a day after U.S. airstrikes hit one of their major weapons storage compounds in Idlib province.
Syrian Government Airstrikes Kill at Least 21 in Aleppo Province
“Syrian government helicopters and warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes overnight on a northern town controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),” AFP reports.
The 10 strikes on the town of al-Bab in Aleppo province, which included seven barrel bombs dropped from helicopters, killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 100.
The attack came hours before U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in Damascus to discuss “several issues, including the envoy’s recent initiative on establishing local cease-fires as a way to try to halt the fighting in the country,” Reuters reports.
A Syrian state newspaper criticized De Mistura for his initiative to establish “frozen zones” to halt fighting, especially in the northern city of Aleppo, “saying he deviated from the ‘limits of the international mission’ with which he was entrusted.”
The U.S.-led coalition has focused most of its attention on the targeting of ISIS strongholds in the Kurdish town of Kobani, prompting cries from both French and Turkish officials for the coalition to focus its attention on saving Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo.
Aleppo is currently under siege from several directions: on three sides by the Assad regime and by ISIS on the other.
Islamic State Shuts Down Schools in Eastern Syria
The “Islamic State has shut all schools in areas it controls in eastern Syria pending a religious revision of the curriculum,” Reuters reports
“They’ve announced that they will only teach religion and a little bit of mathematics. Their rationale is that all knowledge belongs to the creator, so even the multiplication table shouldn’t be taught,” an activist is quoted as saying for Reuters.
ISIS is nearly in complete control of the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. It has imposed strict rules on civilian life and is known for its brutality against anyone who disobeys or opposes its rule.
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