Assad Retakes Air Base East of Capital
The Syrian army recaptured a military airport east of Damascus on Monday, more than three years after rebel groups took control of the base and a nearby town, Agence France-Presse reports.
“The Syrian army has taken full control of the town of Marj al-Sultan and its airport in Eastern Ghouta,” a well-known rebel-held area east of the capital, a military source said.
Government forces were assisted by fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah to fully secure the airport on Monday, about 9 miles (15 km) from Damascus, which had been held by rebel forces since November 2012.
Assad’s advance Monday, “will be a step towards tightening the siege around Eastern Ghouta… and reinforcing the Damascus international airport and the road that leads to it,” according to Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Government troops have continuously besieged the Eastern Ghouta area since 2013. Due to the blockade, residents in the area have little access to food, water, medicines, fuel or electrical power.
The area is predominantly controlled by the rebel coalition of Jaish al-Islam, a grouping of Islamist and salafist militant factions.
On Sunday, airstrikes killed at least 45 civilians in four Eastern Ghouta towns, and rebel fire on government-held areas in Damascus killed another six civilians.
FSA Denies Working with Russians
Rebel fighters with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have denied they are receiving support from the Russian air force, rejecting comments made by a senior Russian army general, Reuters reports.
According to Russian news agencies, Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian army’s general staff, said on Monday that Moscow was conducting dozens of airstrikes in Syria on a daily basis to support the FSA and was also providing the group with weapons, ammunition and material support.
While a separate group that includes members who identify themselves as FSA said they had indirectly benefited from Russian airstrikes during a recent ground battle with other armed rebel groups including the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, they denied receiving any direct support.
Russia has not named the specific groups within the FSA with whom it claims to be working. A variety of groups identify themselves as part of the FSA, a group that does not have a central command structure.
Kerry in Moscow to Bridge Gap with Russia over Syria
U.S. secretary of state John Kerry said he hopes to use his visit to Moscow on Tuesday to make “real progress” in bridging the gap between Russian president Vladimir Putin over how to find a political solution in Syria.
“I look forward to making real progress,” Kerry said before beginning talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
“I think the world benefits when powerful nations with a long history with each other have the ability to be able to find common ground,” he said.
Russia and the U.S., however, have not yet been able to find common ground on the role of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in any political transition, or over which rebel groups would be acceptable to include in future negotiations with the government.
Moscow military intervened in Syria in late September at the behest of Assad, and has said that no one but the Syria people should decide the embattled leader’s political fate.
And while the Kremlin has said its aerial campaign is targeting Islamic State militants, U.S. officials have accused it of primarily targeting Syrian opposition forces, including groups backed by Washington and its allies.
Recommended Reads
- The Guardian: Syria’s Local Councils, Not Assad, Are the Answer to ISIS
- The Washington Post: Russian Airstrikes Force a Halt to Aid in Syria, Triggering a New Crisis
- The Wall Street Journal: Russia, West Diverge on Military Tactics in Syria
- The Daily Beast: The Rebel Commander of Damascus
- The Washington Post: Kerry to Ask for Putin’s Help in Syrian Negotiations
Top image: Free Syrian Army fighters walk amid the ruins of a village on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 while fighting between rebels and government forces continues in an area nearby. (AP Photo/Virginie Nguyen Hoang)