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AlMasdarNews reports: Around noon Tuesday, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a new attack in the southern East Ghouta (Damascus) pocket, subsequently capturing half of Bazinah village.
Furthermore, the SAA’s Republican Guard – reinforced by a Hezbollah unit – managed to fully capture the Bazinah farms during the evening, thereby establishing a new launching pad for attacks on the village.
On the defending side of the battle, rebel fighters of Jabhat al-Nusra and Faylaq Al-Rahman suffered 11 deaths, while 5 surrendered to Syrian government troops.
No airstrikes aided the advance; however, the Republican Guard and Hezbollah relied heavily upon artillery prior to their mopping-up operations.
Meanwhile, the insurgent factions of East Ghouta have been clashing internally with one another despite ongoing advancements by the Syrian Armed Forces.
Since the 1st of May, the SAA has captured several areas in southeastern Damascus; these include Rikabiyah village (1st of May), the Rikabiyah farms (11th of May), Nolah village (12th of May), Hawsh All Hatib village (14th of May), while operations are ongoing to capture Zebdeen and Deir al-Asafir, two highly treasured rebel strongholds.
In the months prior to these advancements, the SAA carried out a strategic pincer manuever by capturing Bala Al-Kadhim and Marj al-Sultan, thus greatly restricting rebel supplies and reinforcements from reaching the newly captured villages.
