Ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta to Begin Thursday: Syrian Observatory
A temporary ceasefire is set to begin on Thursday between Syrian rebels and government forces in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that parties had agreed to a local 15-day ceasefire as a “test period” that could be extended upon further agreement.
No exact time was given for the start of the ceasefire and clashes between rebels and Syrian army troops were ongoing as of late Wednesday night, according to the Observatory.
If the temporary truce takes place, it will be the second local ceasefire to be implemented in Syria in recent months.
In September of this year, pro-government forces and opposition groups, with the help of the U.N. and Iran, established temporary six-month ceasefires in a town near the Lebanese border and in two northwestern villages.
Airstrikes Kill Dozens of ISIS Fighters: Activists
Increased French and Russian airstrikes on areas controlled by the self-proclaimed Islamic State on Wednesday have killed 33 jihadist militants in the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa, according to AFP.
Intensified raids on ISIS positions in Syria this week come on the heels of deadly jihadist attacks in Paris last Friday, and after news that a “terrorist attack” was responsible for downing a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for both the tragic events in Paris and downing of the Russian jet.
Since the weekend, Russian and French air raids have hit arms depots, troop barracks and other ISIS infrastructure in Raqqa.
“This is where we must hit Daesh, in its lifeblood,” said French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday, using an Arabic acronym to refer to ISIS.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 72 hours of strikes “have left 33 dead and dozens wounded in IS ranks.”
“The limited number of deaths can be explained by the fact that the jihadists had taken precautions,” Observatory head Rami Abdulrahman told AFP.
Assad Attacks Destroying Aleppo’s Medical System: Report
Attacks by the Syrian government on eastern Aleppo have “decimated the city’s health care system,” according to a report released Wednesday by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
With more than 45 government attacks on different health care facilities in Syria’s northernmost city, more than two-thirds of the hospitals in the area no longer function and roughly 95 percent of the city’s doctors have fled, been detained or been killed.
“The Syrian government is using attacks on Aleppo’s health care system as a weapon of war,” said Dr. Michele Heisler, a PHR board member who helped compile the report.
“The systematic targeting of hospitals is the biggest impediment to providing health care in Syria. The physicians I met want one thing – for the bombing to stop so they can do their work.”
While government forces have been the primary culprits in attacks against medical facilities in the city, according to the report, Russian planes have now joined the war on Aleppo’s hospitals.
In the month of October, PHR documented 10 attacks on Syrian health facilities by Russian warplanes.
“Typically in a war zone, hospitals are clearly marked and even provide their coordinates to the parties to the conflict as a safety precaution,” said Donna McKay, PHR’s executive director.
“But in the perverse logic of the Syrian conflict, those working in the medical field are actually forced to hide their identities and their facilities in the desperate hope that this will provide some measure of protection against attacks that have become shockingly commonplace.”
Recommended Reads
- Foreign Policy: Kurds Can’t be Syria’s Saviors
- Al-Monitor: Can Syrian Opposition Defend Both Hama and Aleppo at the Same Time?
- The Nation: France’s Ramped-up Syria Bombing Comes up Empty
- The Washington Post: An Angry Obama Upbraids Critics Who Want to Block Refugees From Syria
- The Boston Globe: What Would It Take To Make Syria Safe?
Top image: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with defense officials in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia on Nov. 10, 2015. The tide of global rage against the Islamic State group lends greater urgency to ending the jihadis’ ability to operate at will from a base in war-torn Syria. That momentum could also force a reevaluation of what to do about President Bashar al-Assad’s future and puts a renewed focus on the position of his key patrons, Russia and Iran. (Alexei Druzhinin//Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)