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The Syrian Police and security force removed fifteen checkpoints from several areas inside and around the Syrian capital of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on June 13.
According to Syrian pro-government activists, the step is aimed at easing the movement of the civilians in the Syrian capital. The Damascus government has been willing to take this step for a long time. However, only now after securing the city suburbs such decision become possible.
The SOHR and Syrian pro-government sources said that in the upcoming weeks more checkpoints will be removed. Most of the checkpoints around the city are expected to be removed once the reconciliation processes in the Eastern Ghouta region and in southern Damascus are over in the last quarter of this year.
While most activists welcomed the removal of the checkpoints, many others warned that the remaining cells of groups like ISIS and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) around Damascus may take advantage of this step and carry out terrorist attacks.
On May 21, the General Command of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) announced in an official statement that security was restored in the governorate of Damascus after defeating the last pocket of ISIS. Since then, the Damascus government has started taking additional steps to restore normal life in the city and its suburbs.
Damascus is under the authority of one man, so it will stabilize, but the limitless low level problems will continue indefinitely.
And those “low level problems” are?
Careful with your answer, this is not a western country we are talking about….
‘Damascus is under the authority of one man…’
Nice try with attempting to push the standard US ‘Syrian dictator’ narrative. But do you actually have any idea how complex and fractured localized authority remains in any form of partial and recovering war zone? Beyond that, once the militant pockets are fully cleared from Damascus the capital city’s fundamental problems – of foreign protected and sponsored terrorists who have regularly mortar shelled and randomly car and suicide bombed Syrian city neighborhoods and state public service offices will cease.