PHOTO: Smoke rises over the Dahiyat al-Assad district, west of Aleppo city, October 30, 2016 (Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)
LATEST
- Iranian Journalist Killed Near Aleppo
- UN Envoy De Mistura Meets Iranian Officials in Tehran
- Video: Pro-Assad Airstrikes on Hazarin in Southern Idlib Province
- Video: Russian Incendiary Bombing of Khan al-Shih, Southwest of Damascus
- US Withdraws Effort to Punish Assad Over Use of Chemical Weapons
UPDATE 1100 GMT: The Syrian military says that it has completed the takeover of the Dahiyat al-Assad district, west of Aleppo, which had been captured by rebels in late October.
With the advance, pro-Assad forces — supported by artillery and airstrikes — have regained all positions lost in the rebel offensive at the end of October and start of November. They also have reoccupied all of the 1070 Housing Complex, most of which was taken by rebels in August.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Trying to regain territory west of Syria’s largest city Aleppo, pro-Assad forces claimed success in attacks on Friday.
Supported by intense shelling and airstrikes, foreign militias and the Syrian army claimed the recapture of the village of Minyan (see map), taken by rebels in late October.
The regime also said that forces had re-entered the Dahiyat al-Assad suburb, also gained by rebels in an offensive that began on October 28.
Rebels said they were still fighting in Minyan and trying to retake the three positions claimed by the regime in Dahiyat al-Assad.
Footage of the clashes in Minyan:
The rebels had advanced in an attempt to break the siege of opposition areas of eastern Aleppo city, re-imposed by Russia and the Assad regime in late August. However, the foreign militias and paramilitary Tiger Forces have struck back in the past week, recapturing the 1070 Housing Complex.
Rebels have held and even retaken ground in areas where Russian warplanes have not been able to operate. However, their resistance has been eroded when bombing can support assaults.
On Thursday, the UN warned that the last food rations had been distributed in eastern Aleppo city, where 270,000 residents are at risk from the siege.
UN Envoy De Mistura Meets Iranian Officials in Tehran
The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has visited Tehran for discussions with Iranian officials.
Iranian State media featured a statement from Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari urging the UN to refrain from any pressure on the Assad regime and Russia:
It is very important that the United Nations, which holds an international status, remain impartial in any measure about the Syrian developments and the country’s crisis, and fulfill its essential duty to maintain global peace, stability and security.
The Iranian outlets carried no statement from de Mistura.
Iranian Journalist Killed Near Aleppo
Iranian journalist Mohsen Khazaei was killed on Saturday amid fighting between pro-Assad forces and rebels west of Aleppo.
Khazaei, who worked for State outlet IRIB, was killed when he was hit in the head by shrapnel from a mortar shell. His cameraman was injured and is in hospital.
Pro-Assad forces, including Iranian units and Iranian-support foreign militias, have been trying to regain territory from rebels such as the 1070 Housing Complex.
Videos: Pro-Assad Airstrikes in Idlib Province
Aftermath of pro-Assad airstrikes on the village of Hazarin in southern Idlib Province in northwest Syria on Saturday:
On the town of Binnish:
And in Kafrtakharim in northern Idlib Province:
Video: Russian Incendiary Bombing of Khan al-Shih, Southwest of Damascus
Footage of Russian incendiary munitions dropped on Khan al-Shih on Friday night:
Pro-Assad forces have tried for six weeks to overrun the town, southwest of Damascus.
US Withdraws Effort to Punish Assad Over Use of Chemical Weapons
The US has halted an effort to punish the Assad regive over its use of chemical weapons, despite UN reports assigning responsibility for cholorine attacks.
Since the reports attributed blame for four attacks to the Syrian military, the US had pursued a resolution condemning the use of the chemical weapons. It sought to strip the Assad regime of its voting rights at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons if Damascus failed to permit greater international scrutiny of suspected chemical weapons activities.
Hpwever, facing resistance from Russia and other countries, Washington withdrew the measure this week, according to diplomatic sources say. Instead, the US is supporting a compromise measure put forward by Spain that condemns the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime and the Islamic State, and instructs the OPCW watchdog to carry out inspections at sites, including Syrian airports, that are linked to chemical weapons activities.
However, the measure stops short of imposing any penalties on Damascus or requiring the regime to declare stockpiles of chlorine and barrel bombs.
