(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian army's 4th Division has stormed the town of Dumair northeastern Damascus late on Saturday, seeking to capture six troops defected to the elite army unit, local activists said.
Two deserters were killed in clashes with the 4th Division forces who blocked the town. Regime warplanes have also pounded the shelter of the defectors with three airstrikes.
Defecting news has been frozen for over eight years since the early days of the Syrian revolution. About 20,000 Syrian army defectors joined the opposition forces between 2011 and 2012, activists say.
Opposition factions and hardline groups have killed more than 220,000 pro-regime forces since the armed conflict erupted nine years ago, according to the regime's Martyrs Office.
The nine-year-old conflict in Syria has killed more than 560,000 people and displaced 7.5 millions.
Zaman A Wasl
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