Government and Rebels to Evacuate Besieged Darayya

Rebel fighters and civilians are expected to evacuate the besieged town of Darayya after reaching a deal with the government on Thursday, BBC News reported.

Located five miles (8km) outside the capital Damascus, Darayya has been under government siege since 2012. Since then only one aid delivery has been allowed, this June. Darayya was home to some of the earliest peaceful protests against the Syrian government in 2011, and its residents have lived through repeated government bombings, as well as food, water and electricity cuts.

The Syrian government reportedly intensified its bombing of Darayya in recent weeks, using barrel bombs and air-dropped incendiary weapons, Reuters reported. The town’s only hospital was targeted last week.

Nearly 1,000 rebel fighters with light weapons will be evacuated to the rebel-held Idlib province in northwestern Syria, as well as 5,000 civilians, according to Darayya’s local council. Civilians will be relocated to government shelters under the terms of the deal, according to Syrian state media. Darayya’s population before the conflict was close to 250,000.

Turkey Fires ‘Warning Shots’ at U.S. Ally in Syria

The Turkish military fired at Kurdish YPG (People’s Defense Units) forces in Syria on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The U.S.-backed Kurdish militia is a key ally of the coalition fighting the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). Turkey intervened militarily in Syria this week, sending tanks, troops and warplanes across the border to support Syrian rebels in an offensive against ISIS militants in their last significant stronghold along the Turkish border, Jarablus.

However, Turkish authorities including President Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that their intervention in Syria was not only to drive out ISIS from Jarablus, but also to limit Kurdish expansion along the Turkish border. Army shelling at YPG forces south of Jarablus were described as warning shots by Turkish state-run media.

Retreating ISIS militants left behind mines and booby traps that Turkish security forces are helping to remove, according to the mayor of Karkamis, a Turkish town just across the border from Jarablus.

The U.S. echoed Turkish demands for the YPG, the military wing of the Kurdish PYD, to retreat east of the Euphrates. Jarablus and Manbij, where YPG forces recently pushed out ISIS militants, lie west of the river.

“Islamic State should be completely cleansed; this is an absolute must. But it’s not enough for us … the PYD and the YPG militia should not replace Islamic State there,” said Turkish defense minister Fikri Isik on an interview with NTV, the Turkish national network.

Fighting in Aleppo Kills 23 Civilians on Both Sides of Divided City

Government forces killed 15 civilians in a barrel-bomb attack on opposition-held parts of Aleppo on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reported.

Among those killed were 11 children, said the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that an additional eight civilians, two of them children, were killed in rebel fire on government-held parts of Aleppo.

Syria’s largest city, Aleppo is divided between a government-held west and rebel-held east. Intense fighting continues after rebels broke a government-imposed siege on eastern Aleppo earlier this month. However, continued government bombing of the rebels’ new supply line again threatens residents’ access to food and other basic supplies.

Recommended Reads

• The Telegraph: A Costly Victory in Syria?
• The New York Times: Syria’s Paradox: Why the War Only Ever Seems to Get Worse
• The Washington Post: Turkey’s Syria Offensive May Have Been Delayed a Year by Officers Who Plotted Coup
• BBC News: White Helmets, Omran and Fading Hope in Syria
• Bloomberg: Russia Sees Turkey Thaw Aiding Syria Deal as Lavrov, Kerry Meet