Syrian government troops captured a fiercely contested suburb of the
capital Thursday after five months of heavy fighting, flushing rebels
from their last hideouts and quickly moving to crush pockets of
resistance in the surrounding countryside, activists and state media
said.
The fall of Mleiha, located some 10 km southeast of downtown Damascus,
marks the latest setback for rebels around the capital. Over the past
year, the opposition has watched as one stronghold after another has
either slipped into government hands or been forced to strike lopsided
truces.
The military’s campaign around Damascus has succeeded in pushing the
rebels farther from the heart of the city, while also strengthening
President Bashar Assad’s once shaky hold on the capital.
Assad’s forces have waged a ferocious offensive since April to try to
dislodge rebels from Mleiha, pounding the town with airstrikes and
artillery. Both sides placed a premium on controlling Mleiha because of
its strategic location near the highway to the Damascus airport, as well
the opposition stronghold of eastern Ghouta.
Government troops backed by fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah, a
Shiite militant group, finally seized the town Thursday, the
Britain—based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Mleiha is under government control, but there is still fighting in the
areas surrounding the town,” said Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman.
Syrian TV said army units have restored peace and security to Mleiha
after destroying the last of the terrorist groups there. The government
calls those fighting to topple Assad terrorists.
Syrian state TV and Lebanon’s Al—Mayadeen and Al—Manar TV stations
broadcast live from the northern part of Mleiha Thursday. The footage
showed bombed out buildings and dusty, rubble—strewn streets.
Electricity cables dangled from apartment blocks.
“The Syrian army carried out early Thursday a critical military
operation on the edges of the town through which it was able to take by
surprise and destroy large numbers of Nusra Front terrorists,” Syrian TV
said, referring to the al—Qaida—affiliated rebel group.
It showed soldiers waving their rifles in the air and shouting pro—Syria
slogans in celebration. The crackle of gunfire could be heard, which
the correspondent said was fighting on the edge of the town.
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