Damascus Suburbs: Last Pocket of Terror in Syria About to be Mopped Up by SAA and Russians
The air force of the pro-American coalition struck 2 villages in Syria on Saturday, in the south, in the Al-Hasakah province. According to RIA Novosti agency referring to the Syrian TV, at least 17 civilians died, including 4 children and 5 women. The missiles hit residential houses.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Army continues to mop up the suburbs of Damascus from the rest of terrorist armed groups. This week several settlements at once were liberated in the south of the Syrian capital. Right now, tough fighting is ongoing in Yarmouk, which has historically been a Palestinian refugee camp, established back in 1957. The terrorists dug in there several years ago. The restrained urban conditions and the civilians remaining there hamper the advance of the Syrian army. Concurrently, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria arranges the withdrawal of militants from the camp.
Our war correspondent Evgeny Poddubny has the latest information.
This is fighting in the center of the Yarmouk camp. It's 8 kilometers from the center of Damascus. The soldiers of the Syrian army have to destroy every square meter of the buildings, used by the militants as shelters, but the resistance doesn't decrease. The operation to liberate the district has been lasting for more than 3 weeks. Over this time, in the course of negotiations, Russian officers managed to withdraw over 8,000 militants from various fringe groups and their families to the north of Syria. Here stayed those, who have nothing to negotiate with about, the terrorists of the so-called Islamic State. In the course of political settlement, Ahrar Al-Sham and Jaysh Al-Islam groups voluntarily gave in the districts of Yalda, Babilla, Beit Sahem under the governmental control. The soldiers of the Syrian army liberated the Qadam district, and several districts of the camp. But the terrorists continue to resist fiercely. Despite the efforts of the Syrian army soldiers, the center of the district is still controlled by the terrorists.
Just a few days ago these houses were controlled by the so-called IS. Here it's clear why it's so hard to break the defense of the pseudo-caliphate in the Yarmouk camp: all buildings are connected by such trenches, so basically from one end of the district to the other one may move underground, invisible even from the air. Also, there are firing positions set up near the trenches, so the terrorists can quickly move, maneuver and deliver fire. Just like we move in this building, the terrorists from the pseudo-caliphate move in the neighboring ones. The scale of combat can be seen from the roof.
Seemingly, the resistance of the islamists must have been broken long ago. But the Syrian army suffers substantial losses. Here, a few days ago a pickup truck of the Syrian army was destroyed. The terrorists made an ambush. Meanwhile, the terrorists learned to address the consequences of air and artillery strikes.
These are forward positions of the Syrian army in the Yarmouk camp. Further buildings are occupied by the so-called Islamic State. They are not seen from here, the firing positions are situated in the basement. Now we'll show you the ISIS militants from the air, using a drone. That's how the terrorists cross the open space 0.5 kilometers far from the forward position. They cross the streets fast, afraid of bombs and shells. There are no more than 1,000 militants of the ISIS in the center of Yarmouk. They are known to have a reserve of food and ammunition and are ready for a long-lasting defense. Ammunition, food, medical supplies are stored in basements. The Syrian army hasn’t enough power to take street №30 under full control. And this is the last enclave of the terrorists in Damascus. After a victory here, the capital may be called a peaceful city for the first time since the war started.
That said, it seems that there's another victory coming up. Thanks to Russian negotiators, militants voluntarily leave the so-called Rastan enclave, a territory between the cities of Homs and Hama. According to the Russian Reconciliation Center, more than 3,000 militants have been transferred to Idlib. As soon as the process is over, the route that connects two provinces will be active again.
Evgeny Poddubny, Alexander Pushin, Stanislav Elovsky, for Vesti — News of the Week from Damascus, Syria.