PHOTO: Women and children protest in besieged Darayya, southwest of Damascus, March 2016


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Iran Daily: Discussions with Hezbollah After Killing of Its Top Commander in Syria


Syria’s Assad regime has allowed hundreds of students to leave two besieged areas near Damascus to take year-end examinations.

However, all others in Madaya and Moadamiya remain trapped after years of nlockades. And even as the regime was making its gesture, the Syrian military was attacking another besieged town, Darayya, southwest of the capital.

About 360 students from Moadamiya, near Darayya, and 68 from Madaya to the northwest of Damascus were allowed into regime areas for their exams. The ninth-graders from Madaya were searched by soldiers at the first checkpoint outside the town.

“They were fighting for their lives, but they will make all efforts” to pass their exams, local teacher Wafiq Hashem said.

Moadamiya and Darayya have been cut off since late 2012, while Madaya was besieged from July 2015. More than 200 people are estimated to have died from starvation in the two areas.

Despite aid being allowed into some towns since a partial “cessation of hostilities”, the Assad regime continues to block access to the Damascus suburbs. Last Friday, the Syrian military pulled out of an agreement for five trucks to bring baby milk and medical supplies to Darayya. People waiting for the aid were then shelled, killed a father and son and wounding five other residents.

See Syria Feature: 2 Killed, 5 Wounded as Assad Regime Blocks 1st Aid to Darayya Since 2012

Local activists and journalists said that shelling continued over the weekend and that Syrian troops tried to enter the town.

Shelling on Sunday:

The outlet of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Fars News, boasted from a “source”:

The Syrian government forces cut off the communication lines of the terrorist groups in Darayya and Moadhamiya regions and laid complete siege on the militant groups in this strategic region near the capital.

The terrorist groups have been trapped in the circle of the Syrian forced around Darayya and Moadhamiya.

About 80% of students in Madaya have had extended absences from class in the last school year because of hunger or cold weather, Hashem said. Schools have struggled with power cuts and other shortages.

Meanwhile, the Assad regime tried to get a public-relations victory from its permission for students to travel. Education Minister Hazwan al-Wuz said the examinations are a “rejection of the ignorance that the nation’s enemies are striving for”.


Rebel Faction Executes 2 Kurdish Militiamen

The rebel faction Jaish al-Shamal has executed two members of the Kurdish militia YPG.

Claimed footage of the executions has been posted.

Jaish al-Shamal said the killings were in retaliation for the parading of the bodies of about 45 Free Syrian Army members who were killed — reportedly in the explosion of an ammunition vehicle — in an attack on Kurdish-held Tel Rifaat in northern Aleppo Province in late April.

The bodies were carried on a truck bed through the streets of Afrin, the center of one of three Kurdish cantons in Syria.

Jaish al-Shamal is a small group within the Free Syrian Army.


50,000+ Displaced Near Jordan Border Face Water Shortages

More than 50,000 displaced Syrians, stranded at two desert border crossings with Jordan, are facing water shortages and the risk of sunstroke amid temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Syrians began gathering at the border, closed by Jordan, in mid-2014. Most have fled Islamic State attacks and areas of control in eastern Syria. The humanitarian crisis has been growing this spring amid worsening conditions and expectations of a hot summer.

See Syria Feature: “Jordan Stranding 50,000 Refugees Near Border”

Last November, UNICEF assumed responsibility for providing potable water to camps but residents say the deliveries are not sufficient

“People drink the water as soon as it arrives,” said Abu Anas, a father of two. “They don’t even care that it’s nearly boiling.”

Aid officials told Syria Direct said that a poor network of roads and the camps’ isolated locations are hindering efforts to provide relief.


Free Syrian Army Responds to Claims of Rebel Killing of Aleppo’s Civilians

The Free Syrian Army’s Aleppo Operations Room has responded to claims that rebels killed civilians in regime- and Kurdish-held parts of Aleppo city, promising a “serious investigation” to ensure adherence to international law.

Amnesty International reported on Friday that rebel attacks killed at least 83 civilians, including 30 children, in the mainly-Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud district between February and April. The Syrian Network for Human Rights issued verification of the deaths of 65 civilians in regime-controlled sections from April 20 to April 29.

See Syria Feature: Report — 65 Civilians Killed in Aleppo by Rebels in Late April

The FSA statement said:

Fatah Halab operations room reaffirms its full adherence to the international humanitarian law and its utmost endeavor to protect civilians even in areas outside its control.

The room took note of reports issued by some human rights organizations including the alleged breaches of international humanitarian law. A serious investigation into all these allegations will be started immediately to ensure that all fighters have abided by the order to fully respect the international humanitarian law and to prevent any breaches or violations.


Turkey: We Killed 27 Islamic State Fighters on Sunday

The Turkish military claims that it killed 27 Islamic State fighters inside Syria on Sunday.

The military said it shelled positions near the border town of Azaz in northwest Syria, while warplanes of the US-led coalition bombed the area.

The Syrian opposition claimed that it retook several villages from ISIS alongside the operations.

The Turkish armed forces have escalated attacks on ISIS, after the Islamic State’s cross-border rockets and shells killed more than 20 people in Kilis Province in southeastern Turkey this year.

Ankara claimed last week that drones and shelling had killed 55 ISIS fighters.