A Syrian opposition-held suburb south of Damascus fell into government control Wednesday, strengthening military efforts to retake the area surrounding the capital city.
Syrian troops seized the town of Hejeira, part of a region that’s been an opposition stronghold for more than a year, according to SANA state news agency. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based activist group, confirmed that military troops had taken control said there was still fighting on the periphery of the town, the Associated Press reports.
At least two people were killed and more than 20 injured Wednesday in blasts in the Damascus suburbs of Bab Touma and Zablatani, SANA reports. The Syrian Observatory estimated three deaths.
Government forces, aided by Lebanon’s Shiite militant Hezbollah and Shiite militants from Iraq, have captured four other opposition-controlled areas, including the nearby town of Sabina. President Bashar Assad’s troops have also pushed back in the northern city of Aleppo, recapturing a military based and two towns southeast of an international airport air field.
The military offensive could embolden Assad, as he negotiates conditions for proposed peace talks by the United States and Russia to resolve the more than two year-old conflict. More than 100,000 people have died in the civil war.
[AP]