BEIRUT: Syria’s army has broken the siege of an army base encircled by opposition forces on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, state television and a war monitor reported on Sunday.
Last Sunday, rebels, mainly belonging to the Islamist Ahrar al Sham faction, widened their control of parts of the Military Vehicles Administration base in the Eastern Ghouta town of Harasta.
Army elite forces, backed by Russian jets, launched an offensive to break the siege and liberate at least 200 troops who were believed to be trapped within its sprawling, heavily defended grounds.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Syrian forces had “opened a loophole” that led them into the base.
Extensive bombing and violent clashes were taking place inside and around the base late at night, while the army fought its way to recapture the compound’s buildings, the state tv reporter said during a live broadcast from a nearby location.
“Fighting is underway to expand the route that was opened into the base ... and the army will press on with its offensive beyond liberating the base,” he added, expecting the battle for the base to end in the coming few hours.
The tv station aired footage of the battles earlier in the day that showed heavy smoke billowing from the battered buildings targeted by the army fire.
Rebel fighters had stormed the base last November in a drive to relieve pressure on Eastern Ghouta’s towns and villages.
The base has long been used to strike at the densely populated Eastern Ghouta in an attempt to force the rebel enclave into submission. More than 300,000 people there have lived under siege by army troops since 2013.
Syrian army breaks siege of army base near Damascus
Syrian army breaks siege of army base near Damascus
1,965 Israeli violations recorded against Palestinians in February
- Head of Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission condemns attacks as a continuation of ‘terror’ against Palestinians
- Violations included assaults, uprooting trees, burning fields and preventing olive pickers from accessing their lands
LONDON: Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,965 attacks across Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank in February, according to a report by the Palestinian Authority.
Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, condemned the attacks as a continuation of the “terror” against the Palestinian people, their land and property.
The commission documented 1,454 attacks by Israeli forces and 511 by settlers, most of which were concentrated in the governorates of Hebron with 421 attacks, followed by Nablus with 340, Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 320, and East Jerusalem with 210 attacks.
Violations have included direct beatings of Palestinians, uprooting trees, burning fields, and preventing olive pickers from accessing their lands.
Israeli forces have seized land and demolished homes and agricultural facilities under the pretext of “security,” which has enabled settlers to expand their settlements, according to Wafa news agency.
Shaaban said: “What is taking place represents an organized methodology aimed at emptying the land of its owners and imposing an integrated racist colonial system.”
Israeli settlers have poisoned and uprooted a total of 1,314 trees, including 1,054 olive trees, in the areas of Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Tulkarm. The olive groves have been a lifeline for Palestinians in the West Bank, with an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 families relying on the olive harvest for their livelihoods, according to the UN Human Rights Council.
In February, Israeli forces demolished 122 structures belonging to Palestinians, including 56 inhabited homes, nine uninhabited homes, 34 agricultural facilities and 18 sources of livelihood. More than one-third of these demolitions took place in Jerusalem, totaling 46 structures.
