Étiqueté : Eastern

Syrian government forces have retaken the town of Douma, thus gaining full control of the former rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, according to a Russian military official. Syrian troops pushed the last rebel fighters out of Douma on Thursday, Major-General Yury Yevtushenko, head of Russia’s Centre for Syrian Reconciliation, told local news media. « Today, a landmark event…

Alaa al-Khamooneh, a mathematics teacher in Douma, Eastern Ghouta’s largest city, was forced to take his profession underground in the last month to avoid bombs and aerial attacks. Since the Syrian and Russian offensive on the largely agricultural region began on February 18, the 35-year-old has been part of a teaching initiative that aims to…

Syrian government forces are preparing to launch a « huge » military operation to capture Douma, the last remaining rebel stronghold in Eastern Ghouta, according to local media. The government-affiliated al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday that troops were dispatched around the town, which is largely controlled by the Jaish al-Islam rebel group. The mobilisation was preparation of…

Syrian government forces are close to taking full control of Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel-held area near the capital, Damascus. Two out of three rebel groups that had been controlling the enclave have already surrendered, with thousands of fighters and their relatives departing for opposition-held areas in the north of the country. The third rebel group,…

Hundreds of opposition fighters and their families have been evacuated from the town of Harasta in the eastern part of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, according to Syrian state media.  Sana, the official Syrian news agency, said at least six buses carrying the evacuees are heading to Idlib province in Syria’s north, which is an area under…

Some 25 trucks of food aid have entered the town of Douma in Syria’s besieged Eastern Ghouta, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  The convoy, facilitated by the ICRC as well as the United Nations and the Syrian Red Crescent crossed into Douma on Thursday through the al-Wafideen crossing. The ICRC…

In a surprise move, several members of Syria’s armed opposition have been evacuated from rebel-held Eastern Ghouta late on Friday, sources told Al Jazeera. The evacuation comes as the Syrian army intensified its operations in the central part of the besieged Damascus suburb, state television reported on Saturday. Jaish al-Islam, one of the main rebel…

Rebels in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta have reiterated they will defend the area and will not accept a negotiation for a Russian-proposed withdrawal, a military spokesperson of one of the rebel groups in the enclave said. Reuters News Agency on Wednesday reported that the spokesperson said « there are no negotiations about this subject », referencing Russia’s offer…

Geneva, Switzerland – The UN will try to resume the delivery of critical food and health supplies to the town of Douma in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta on March 8 if conditions allow, UN officials have announced. A UN spokesperson said Tuesday that a humanitarian aid convoy carrying food and health supplies for 75,000 people was…

A 46-truck convoy carrying humanitarian aid has begun entering Eastern Ghouta through the government-controlled Wafideen checkpoint for the first time in nearly a month. « At last… A convoy … carrying desperately-needed aid for tens of thousands is on its way to Eastern Ghouta, Syria, » Robert Mardini, the head of the Middle East operations for the…