Syria's state media has said regime forces have regained most of the towns and villages in a rebel-held territory near Damascus. A deal has reportedly been reached to evacuate the injured from a key town in the enclave.
Image: Imago/Xinhua/A. Safarjalani
Advertisement
In a statement on state television late Saturday, a Syrian army spokesman said its weekslong military campaign had brought "victory" as well as security to the nearby Syrian capital, Damascus, and also secured its main links to other parts of the country.
The spokesman added that the army was preparing to capture the last rebel bastion of Douma.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), based in the UK, said regime forces, backed by Russia, have retaken 95 percent of eastern Ghouta.
Hundreds have been killed in one of the Syrian regime's most intense bombing campaigns since the war began in 2011. DW looks at the devastation inflicted on one of the last rebel-held towns.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets
Enclave under siege
More than 1,500 people have been killed since Syrian government troops backed by Russia launched a ferocious attack on eastern Ghouta on February 18. Airstrikes have reduced much of the area near Damascus to ruins. According to the UN, there were an estimated 400,000 people trapped inside the besieged enclave without access to food and water when the offensive began.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets
'Hell on earth'
The town of Douma, with its 200,000 residents, is now the only remaining Ghouta pocket still under rebel control. The full recapture of eastern Ghouta would mark a significant victory for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Referring to the month-long assault on the enclave, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanded "this hell on earth" be stopped immediately.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
Reports of chemical attack
According to activists and doctors in the region, several people have suffered symptoms consistent with those triggered by a chlorine gas attack and had to be treated in hospital. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned the Syrian regime that the use of chemical weapons will result in French retaliation, but the Syrian government claims it has never used this kind of munition.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
300,000 killed
A man and child look at the remains of a missile in Douma, the largest in eastern Ghouta. More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011, when the government cracked down on protesters who were calling for the release of political prisoners and for President Assad to step down.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
'Rapid spread of malnutrition'
Activists say people in Douma have little food or water. Marten Mylius, the emergency relief coordinator for CARE in the Middle East, told DW that "after the tunnels were destroyed and the crossings closed, the price of basic foods skyrocketed. One kilo of rice now costs $4.50 (€3.66). A lot of people cannot afford that anymore. In other words, we are witnessing a rapid spread of malnutrition."
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
At the mercy of the regime
Aid access to eastern Ghouta is difficult because there is no direct route from neighboring countries. "In Idlib, for example...you can get in directly from the Turkish border. You can wait with supplies at the border and then bring in the convoy. It is much more difficult in eastern Ghouta," Mylius told DW.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
6 images1 | 6
Douma deal agreed
Hours after the army's remarks, the Reuters news agency said a deal had been reached with rebel leaders in Douma — the largest urban center in the enclave — to evacuate the wounded to the last rebel-held territory in northern Syria.
Bus convoys have evacuated thousands of civilians and rebels from the besieged enclave, close to DamascusImage: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Citing local sources familiar with the deal, Reuters said the agreement was reached by the negotiating committee that comprises both civic leaders and representatives of Jaish al-Islam, the rebel faction in control of Douma.
Elite forces from Syria's Republican Guards and special army units have been amassing troops around Douma in recent days and threatening to storm the city if the rebels do not agree to leave.
Last month, Syrian President al-Bashar Assad's forces launched an offensive aimed at expelling rebels from besieged eastern Ghouta, where hundreds of thousands of people remained trapped until recently.
Assad's assault has killed more than 1,600 civilians, according to the SOHR.
The full recapture of eastern Ghouta will mark the biggest victory for Assad since December 2016, when his forces regained complete control of the northern city of Aleppo from the opposition following a Russian-backed offensive.
