Russia has deployed military police to monitor two safe zones being established in Syria, the defence ministry in Moscow said Monday. Senior commander Sergei Rudskoi said Russian forces had set up checkpoints and observation posts around a zone in the south-west and in another one covering Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus. The two areas are part … Read more
Syria’s regime carried out air raids on one of the last rebel strongholds near Damascus Sunday, a monitor said, a day after it declared a ceasefire in parts of the besieged enclave. The Syrian army on Saturday announced a halt in fighting for parts of Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held region on the outskirts of the … Read more
The scene in Syria’s besieged rebel-held town of Douma is almost surreal — tables laden with food to break the Ramadan fast are surrounded by the crumbling carcasses of bombed-out buildings. The open-air meals are a rare treat in the town in the Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus, made possible only by the relative calm … Read more
To escape the nightmare of life in their besieged hometown near Syria’s capital, 13 young girls sought refuge in a fairytale performance of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The all-girl cast spent months memorising lines from the classic Brothers Grimm fable before performing in front of a packed audience this week in the elementary … Read more
Russia, Iran and Turkey have signed a deal calling for safe zones to be established inside Syria so that refugees can return and aid be sent in. The deal, which has not been signed by rebel groups or the Syrian government, proposes one zone in Idlib province, another in Homs, and a third near Damascus. … Read more
At least 19 civilians were killed on Tuesday in heavy aerial bombardment of several opposition-held towns east of the Syrian capital, a monitoring group said. Six children were among the dead in Eastern Ghouta, the largest rebel bastion near Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “It was a series of air strikes throughout … Read more
Air strikes by Syrian warplanes on a rebel-held region near Damascus killed at least 22 civilians on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. The highest toll was in Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta region, where raids killed 16 civilians including at least one child and wounded 22, it said. … Read more
Two people were killed on Wednesday in bombardment of a Syrian rebel bastion near Damascus, a monitor said, less than 24 hours after Russia announced a freeze in fighting there. “A young man and a woman were killed in air strikes on Douma,” the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta region, said Rami Abdel Rahman, … Read more
A ceasefire has been declared in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, a rebel bastion near Damascus, to run from midnight last Sunday to March 20, Russia’s defence ministry said. “A ‘regime of silence’ has been introduced from 00:01 on March 6 to 23:59 on March 20 (Damascus time) in the area of Eastern Ghouta,” the ministry said … Read more
France has accused Syria and its allies of using political uncertainty in the US to launch “total war” against opposition-held areas in the country and called for new sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s government for the use of chemical weapons. Making the accusations after a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday, Jean-Marc Ayrault, France’s foreign minister, said … Read more