Breaking: Syrian Army kicks-off assault to split militant-held east Damascus pocket into two

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Breaking: Syrian Army kicks-off assault to split militant-held east Damascus pocket into two

March 5th, 2018

Awake Goy

BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:27 P.M.) – Following the seizure of several key militant strongholds across Damascus’ East Ghouta region (including Beit Naem which is not shown in the map above) during the last two days, the Syrian Army is now gearing up to split the rebel enclave into two parts.

All reports and developments indicate that the insurgent bastion in East Ghouta will be divided horizontally along the Ash-Shifuniyah-Harasta axis.

The militant factions which are expected to resist this move include Jaysh al-Islam, Ahrar al-Sham and Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham – it is possible that Free Syrian Army affiliate group Faylaq al-Rahman may also commit forces to the engagement.

All in all, the Syrian Army is just over three kilometers from splitting the territorial holdings of rebel forces in East Ghouta into two at the closest point.

In Maps: Syrian Government Forces Crushing Militants In Eastern Ghouta

Following previous advances of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies, government forces have liberated the villages of Beit Nayem and Al-Shifuniyah and enterd the village of Hawsh al-Ashari in the central part of the Eastern Ghouta pocket. According to reports, a kind of negotiations is now also ongoing in the area of Mesraba. The SAA is now in only few km away from separating the militant-held pocket into two separate parts. The situation is developing.