Following the liberation of Bayt Siwa and an advance on Misraba, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies have achieved another important success in the eastern part of the Eastern Ghouta region, near Damascus.
According to pro-government sources, units of the SAA and the Republican Guard enterd the villages of Hawsh Ashari and Hawsh Qubaybat and forced militants to withdraw from them. Despite this, clashes are still ongoing in their vicinity.
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Has the pocket been divided into two? Some sources say so, others don’t. I assume as its an ongoing operation, information is heavily delayed.
Still not divided, but if the daily ceasefires still hold fighting has resumed for only a few hours. For all intents and purposes there are now two enclaves, as you cannot maintain proper communications through such a narrow corridor when there is enemy fire control on both sides.
Yes, it was more in regards to SAA being able to move equipment and manpower quicker. Switch teams based on their capabilities and attack where they like. They have been doing that for a while now but physically splitting the pocket would make logistics easier.
Literally one can say the pocket is divided because just 1 Km left between Tiger forces and armourd vehicle base.
When packets become smaller than gone be harder to advance and makes gains.
Soon all of the more easily accessible open terrain will be taken, and all the Jihadis will have left will be the urban areas. That will change the dynamic of the offensive. I assume that when Mesraba gets taken and the remaining enclave gets split in two the SAA might hold for a day or two to recover and regroup. No doubt Putin will spin this as a humanitarian ceasefire, after all, why waste a perfectly good opportunity? And then we will see what happens next as the SAA goes for the urban warfare phase. And which enclave will get targeted first. Douma looks easier, eliminating the southern enclave on the other hand might crush the last desperate hopes of the West for regime change.
SAA could split Norther part in another two packets. One will be Duma the other will be Harista and take them one by one
Always a good idea.
They would probably go for Harasta then Douma, Douma has has political value and would encourage the southern pocket to surrender. But that is entirely up to them and the overall situation that they are in.
Soon, the jihadists will be packed into dense pockets for easy, multi directional destruction in fire controlled zones. The dynamic of the offensive will change in a sense that the SAA will be seizing less miles per day, but killing more jihadists per mile. Your comments about Putin offering civilians a way from the killing zone is puzzling to me. Of course Russians want to minimize civilian death while the US backed terrorists are trying to maximize the killing of innocents for media value. Of course Putin will do everything he can to allow civilians to leave areas where bombs will be dropped, its the only decent thing to do. The sunni terrorists will continue attacking civilians, hopefully soon, them and their families are executed very publically in the streets of Ghouta. Which pocket falls first is irrelevant, there will be buses and coffins.
I agree in general but can’t agree regarding “their families are executed”. Each and every terrorist (including so called moderates) should be eliminated but their families (non combatants) should be set free.
depends on the extent of their crimes.
I agree that if someone commited a crime than he/she should be charged according to Syrian law.
I also agree with the spirit of the tiger, that should someone execute a bunch of prisoners, their crimes will haunt them beyond the grave.
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I think Putin is a great leader and did much for Russia and now for Syria, but please don‘t let your mind compromise with romantic ideas of idealistic heroism, they don’t butcher innocents, but won’t have guilty conscience when it occurs. As a leader he is in Syria for the interest of his own country, russian influence on policies, russian bases at the Mediterranean and possible economical benefits in the future.
I wouldn’t give those mercenary-terrorists neither buses nor coffins they all can die and then be buried all together in huge deep hole in the desert.
My comment about Putin was not meant derogatory, far from it. Only that he will offer the inevitable pause in combat to recover and regroup to score points in the international media. Which have to be made to stave off Western intervention.
I surprise that UN only send humanitarian assistance to East Ghouta instead of Palestine and Yemen where there is famine and whole population is suffering due to starvation. The famine and starvation that brought by Zionists coalition.
Think they will split Harasta off from the Dooma pocket before initiating a cease-fire. Harasta will be a tough enclave to crack as of course will the other two. Harasta will be a small compact block no more than 0.6sq meters when SAA smash their away across from Misraba to the dog leg north of the Mosque. The distance looks no more than 3Ks and mostly open farmland, so unlikely to be mined, but probably ATGM country. It might also make it easier to deal with demoralised defenders as they will then know their asses can leave on a bus or be fried by a flame thrower
These humanitarian pauses are slowing the attack. Shoot the terrorist, make them panic and free as much as civilians as possible when they are retreating.
They are very much necessary, in order to take the wind out of the sails of the war hawks in the West who want to intervene. Every day that we won’t see a Western intervention makes it less likely that it will happen.
At least, make humanitarian pause of 1 hour not half of the day.
They are also necessary to liberate the persecuted Syrian citizens of Ghouta. This is what the SAA have fought for all these years for.
Putin and his humanitarian ceasefire creates more casualties and civilians sufferings. The civilians gone be free when SAA will free them. Pu*tin play games and banding over to please Americans at the expense of Syria
I disagree Joe. That is the US way of War that we witnessed in Iraq and East of the Euphrates, plus of course in Yemen where there are now circa 600,000 cholera victims out of a circa 22 million population and all of this is due to the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure such as power, water and sewage treatment plants by the US/UK backed and armed Saudi coalition.
You make you point and I make my, but when war drug for very long only civilians suffers. Only SAA can safe civilians, because the terrorist will never free those civilians.
The terrorists will use the civilians as human shields for as long as they can BUT it has been shown during the Aleppo liberation that it is possible to maximise the numbers of civilians freed from the bestiality of the US proxy terrorists and I am sure that if a friend or relation of yours was trapped in Ghouta that you would support all the SAA actions to mitigate civilian losses Joe.
A lot of these places are deserted when the SAA gets there. Some civilians have stayed in regime change areas where there isn’t high intensity conflict. A lot have left the war zone at night under the cover of darkness just to get out of there. They’re at risk if they stay or go. Many have taken the risk to leave to go to government held areas where it’s safer.
I think that humanitarian pauses are useless as these terrorists will not release the civilians. It’s better to attack constantly and create panic so that the civilians can escape.
SAA needs a rest too, even with their larger army, tactics change everyday and the pauses allow for a possible new front to open. Without a pause, the civilians won’t be able to leave safely, it is part of psychological warfare and showing the enemy who dictates what.
SAA can make 2 or 3 groups relaying. FSA is also resting and preparing for the next wave.
What is the rush?
The Western corporate media would salivate at the images of mas civilian casualties though.
That’s why they are protecting the terrorists. they love to see Syrians dead. But, FSA is too stupid to understand it.
The FSA are essentially the same as Al Nusra, ISIS and all other US Coalition of terror. They are all insane, criminals or both .
Imagine if we swap the positions of Russia and US with each other in Syria. For example, US with Assad government and Russia with terrorists in Syria. Then can we imagine that Russia would be able to intrude or to cross Syrian border or can Russia would be able to transfer weapons to Israel, ISIS, FSA, SDF and to other terrorist groups. What would be the reaction of Trump administration.
Oh today Russian machinery attacked Syrian border but then our US air force immediately air stroke the border and then Russian machinery retreated. The whole Syrian aerospace and land would be in US army control.
But now Russia is with Syrian government and of course on a very strong authoritative position and in fact have full legal right to defend Syrian aerospace and land from illegal intruders and occupiers.
Assad asking Russia for help d for sure Assad was also hoping that Russia will protect entire Syria Air Space, but Russia is afraid of Americans. Putin still think that the westerns will invited him to the club if we band over for them
People are rightly afraid of the reckless Americans. And I don’t think Putin nor anyone else with a brain wants to join the sinking ship that is America.
Russia can do that with Yemen and can bully USA in Yemen, Palestine, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, … Russia will never dared to do such thing. USA always dares. If Russia creates ISIS, USA will say that Russia supported and created ISIS. That’s why I doin’t understand Putin and don’t know with who he is playing.
Don’t be fooled like Sunnis who thought that Saudi Arabia was on their side.
To dare is to do.
That’s I mean.
That’s a good thing. You’re trying to discover the moves of a long-time intelligence officer. Do you play chess? If you see a minimum of six moves in advance on the chessboard, you may well succeed in seeing the idea behind this move.
The key in chess is to pressure key cells with two or three pieces. Putin can pressure USA 1 billion times but he does always nothing.
Hammuriyah is next. Forces in Beit Sawa are just for their left flank to come up.
Who is more concearned by CNN and WashDC Regime MSM focs on the “Build up of SAA forces Deir Ez Zor”? WashDC Regime could attack encamped SAA troops their where there is no Western media (they don’t control). It would a way for them to lash out after the embarrassment of being humiliated in EG.
In a new and sudden jump, elite Syrian troops have seized the long-lost Aftris Air Defence Battalion base (near the town of Aftris itself) in Damascus’ East Ghouta region
The rebel groups of “Liwaa Al-Habib Al-Mustafa” managed to capture the Aftares battlion in 2012
The Syrian Troops also managed to liberate Hawash al-Ash’ari area and Jisreen Farm after heavy clashes with militant
History shows us that countries go to war over resources, and these very same countries commit to campaigns of ethnic cleansing and mass murder over territory.
If the Kurds had sided with the Syrian Government the war would be over by now. Instead the despicable disgusting Kurds chose the side of ethnic cleansing and mass murder to create a Kurdish state.
The Kurds must go before the ICC and be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.
From Tim Andersons’twitter page
Militants entrenched in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta have attacked a convoy of civilians trying to exit Ghouta, and shelled the area where their relatives and journalists had been waiting, Russian military said. The armed groups fired on acivilian convoy of some 300 families, who were attempting to leave Eastern Ghouta via a humanitarian corridor, spokesman for the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, Major General Vladimir Zolotukhin, told journalists on Thursday. The convoy came under fire just a kilometer away from the exit, where relatives of the Eastern Ghouta residents were waiting with journalists. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties in the attack, but at least three cars were reportedly destroyed as a result of the shelling.
Read more Militants shell & shoot at escapees from E. Ghouta, may use them as human shields – Syrian nun to RT The militants then opened mortar fire on the exit area. No one was injured in the second attack, as civilians and journalists in the area were all immediately evacuated.
East Ghouta militants have been blocking civilians from leaving the suburb, opening fire on the humanitarian corridor that was established by the Syrian governmental forces and the Russian Center for Reconciliation on February 27. The Russian Defense Ministry has accused the militants of using civilians as a human shield, saying they were sabotaging UN aid efforts.
On Sunday, the militants imposed a curfew and publicly punished civilians for violations in an apparent attempt to prevent them from fleeing Eastern Ghouta, the ministry said. The news, however, did not provoke any reaction in the West, where mainstream media reports and officials in Washington instead stuck to the anti-Russian narrative.
The White House has been accusing Russia of killing civilians in the area and ignoring the conditions of a 30-day humanitarian pause in Syria, which was introduced by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Moscow has described these charges as “false,” and accused the US of hypocrisy.
The Russian military has been demanding that groups occupying Eastern Ghouta allow civilians to flee. On Monday, the militants and their families were offered free passage out of the city, as well as security guarantees, in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.