BEIRUT: A Syrian journalist for a pro-government television station died of wounds sustained in shooting attack in the suburbs of Damascus, the state media said yesterday, as rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad pressed on with an offensive to take the capital, the seat of his power.
Rebels have frequently targeted pro-government reporters as well as officials and state institutions such as ministries, in addition to attacks on military, intelligence and security facilities.
The state-run SANA agency said that Suheil Al-Ali of Addounia TV died on Friday, four days after a “terrorist” fired on him as he was returning home from work. The Syrian state media refers to opposition fighters as “terrorists.”
Fighting has raged for weeks in neighborhoods and towns around Damascus that have been opposition strongholds since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.
Rebels have assassinated regime figures in the past, most dramatically in July when they detonated explosives inside one of the regime’s crisis meetings in Damascus, killing four officials including Assad’s brother-in-law and the defense minister. Massive bombings like the one that struck the Interior Ministry have been a trademark of radicals fighting alongside the Syrian rebels, raising concerns about the extremists’ role in the civil war.
Most recently, the country’s interior minister was injured in a suicide bombing that targeted his ministry in Damascus last month. After the Dec. 12 attack, Al-Shaar was secretly brought to neighboring Lebanon for treatment of a back injury, but was rushed out of a Beirut hospital and back home Dec. 26 for fear of being arrested by Lebanese authorities.
Yesterday, SANA denied reports of Al-Shaar’s death, saying that the minister is “in good health and recovering.”
Syrian journalist dies of wounds
Syrian journalist dies of wounds
Syrian Democratic Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo
RIYADH: Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from positions east of Aleppo, according to SDF head Mazloum Abdi.
He announced Friday that SDF will withdraw from east of Aleppo at 7 AM local time on Saturday and redeploy them to areas east of the Euphrates, citing calls from friendly countries and mediators.
Hours earlier, a U.S. military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions.
The U.S. has good relations with both sides and has urged calm. A spokesperson for the U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly before Abdi’s announcement, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa had announced issuance of a decree strengthening Kurdish rights.
A wave of displacement
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people carrying their belongings arrived in government-held areas in northern Syria ahead of the anticipated offensive by Syrian troops on territory held by Kurdish-led fighters.
Many of the civilians who fled were seen using side roads to reach government-held areas because the main highway was blocked at a checkpoint in the town of Deir Hafer controlled by the SDF.
The Syrian army said late Wednesday that civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and then extended the evacuation period another day, saying the SDF had stopped civilians from leaving.
There had been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides in the area before that.
Men, women and children arrived on the government side of the line in cars and pickup trucks that were packed with bags of clothes, mattresses and other belongings. They were met by local officials who directed them to shelters.
* with input from Reuters, AP
