Syria’s regime army and allied forces Tuesday took full control from rebel groups of the strategic town of Salma, in the northwestern province of Latakia, state television reported.
In a breaking news flash, the channel said the army, backed by the pro-government National Defense Forces militia, had also seized hilltops surrounding the town.
Government forces were combing the area for mines and explosive devices “left behind by terrorist groups in the buildings, streets, and squares of the town,” it said.
The town’s recapture is a boost for the army, locked in a stalemate with rebel factions in the province.
Since 2012, Salma had been the main bastion for opposition groups in hilly Latakia, which remains largely controlled by government forces.
Opposition forces in Latakia province – including the Al-Qaeda-affiliated the Nusra Front – are largely based in the northern and northeastern areas of Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal al-Turkman.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russia conducted more than 120 airstrikes over 48 hours in support of the army’s Salma offensive.
Russian strikes killed Tuesday 35 civilians in the provinces of Idlib, in Syria’s northwest, and Aleppo, in the north, the Observatory said.
Twenty-one civilians were killed in Russian raids on Maaret al-Numan, an opposition-held town in Idlib province, it said.
The toll included two paramedics, two media activists and one child. Another 14, including three children, were killed in Russian raids on Manbij, a town in Aleppo province held by Daesh (ISIS), the Observatory said.
Speaking after meeting with Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, President Bashar Assad said the support of “friendly nations” like Iran and Russia had allowed Syria to fight off “terrorism.”
Fazli said Tuesday Iran had “robustly” supported the Syrian people, who are engaged “in a global war against terrorism and takfiri extremist ideas,” SANA reported.
Elsewhere, President Vladimir Putin said it would be too early to speak about granting political asylum to Assad. Putin said Moscow is advocating for a constitutional reform in Syria and if the next election is democratic, “Assad won’t have to go anywhere, no matter if he is elected president or not.”
While Putin refused to speculate on a possible Moscow’s role in helping to remove Assad, he indicated that it would not be too difficult for Moscow to do. “We granted asylum to Snowden,” he said referring to the American whistleblower Edward Snowden. “That was more difficult than [it would be] to shelter Assad.”
Meanwhile, the main opposition coordinator, Riad Hijab, said the United States had backtracked over the departure of Assad as part of any settlement and this meant the opposition would face hard choices on whether to attend the talks. “Sadly, there is very clear backtracking, especially from the United States, with regard to the agenda of the negotiations,” Hijab said Tuesday. “They want the creation of a government whereby the regime would leave us, the opposition, a few ministries.”
The U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on Dec. 18 set out a two-year road map for peace talks, but failed to address the issue of Assad’s future. High-ranking diplomats from the U.S., Russia and the United Nations will meet in Geneva Wednesday to prepare the groundwork for a planned U.N.-brokered conference on Syria later this month. (Agencies)
In a breaking news flash, the channel said the army, backed by the pro-government National Defense Forces militia, had also seized hilltops surrounding the town.
Government forces were combing the area for mines and explosive devices “left behind by terrorist groups in the buildings, streets, and squares of the town,” it said.
The town’s recapture is a boost for the army, locked in a stalemate with rebel factions in the province.
Since 2012, Salma had been the main bastion for opposition groups in hilly Latakia, which remains largely controlled by government forces.
Opposition forces in Latakia province – including the Al-Qaeda-affiliated the Nusra Front – are largely based in the northern and northeastern areas of Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal al-Turkman.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russia conducted more than 120 airstrikes over 48 hours in support of the army’s Salma offensive.
Russian strikes killed Tuesday 35 civilians in the provinces of Idlib, in Syria’s northwest, and Aleppo, in the north, the Observatory said.
Twenty-one civilians were killed in Russian raids on Maaret al-Numan, an opposition-held town in Idlib province, it said.
The toll included two paramedics, two media activists and one child. Another 14, including three children, were killed in Russian raids on Manbij, a town in Aleppo province held by Daesh (ISIS), the Observatory said.
Speaking after meeting with Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, President Bashar Assad said the support of “friendly nations” like Iran and Russia had allowed Syria to fight off “terrorism.”
Fazli said Tuesday Iran had “robustly” supported the Syrian people, who are engaged “in a global war against terrorism and takfiri extremist ideas,” SANA reported.
Elsewhere, President Vladimir Putin said it would be too early to speak about granting political asylum to Assad. Putin said Moscow is advocating for a constitutional reform in Syria and if the next election is democratic, “Assad won’t have to go anywhere, no matter if he is elected president or not.”
While Putin refused to speculate on a possible Moscow’s role in helping to remove Assad, he indicated that it would not be too difficult for Moscow to do. “We granted asylum to Snowden,” he said referring to the American whistleblower Edward Snowden. “That was more difficult than [it would be] to shelter Assad.”
Meanwhile, the main opposition coordinator, Riad Hijab, said the United States had backtracked over the departure of Assad as part of any settlement and this meant the opposition would face hard choices on whether to attend the talks. “Sadly, there is very clear backtracking, especially from the United States, with regard to the agenda of the negotiations,” Hijab said Tuesday. “They want the creation of a government whereby the regime would leave us, the opposition, a few ministries.”
The U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on Dec. 18 set out a two-year road map for peace talks, but failed to address the issue of Assad’s future. High-ranking diplomats from the U.S., Russia and the United Nations will meet in Geneva Wednesday to prepare the groundwork for a planned U.N.-brokered conference on Syria later this month. (Agencies)
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