DAMASCUS: The Syrian army on Saturday said it was increasing its deployments around Damascus and in the south to strengthen its defence lines as panic spread that militates were drawing close.
“Our armed units are reinforcing their lines throughout the Damascus countryside and the southern region,” a spokesperson for the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said in a televised statement.
He also said the army was launching operations against insurgents in the “Hama and Homs in central Syria and the northern Daraa countryside in the south.
Syria’s interior minister told state TV that security forces had imposed an impenetrable cordon around Damascus.
“There is a very strong security and military cordon on the far edges of Damascus and its countryside, and no one… can penetrate this defensive line that we, the armed forces, are building,” Interior Minister Mohammed al-Rahmoun told state TV from Damascus.
Syrian Presidency in a statement has condemned “rumours and false news about President Bashar al-Assad leaving Damascus,”, adding that Assad “is following up on up on his work and national and constitutional duties from the capital”.
Meanwhile, Syrian and Russian air forces conducted strikes on militant-held positions in the Syrian province of Homs, as insurgents claimed control of Daraa, a city in the southwest.
Aircraft of the Syrian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Forces hit concentrations of illegal armed groups in Homs, killing dozens of insurgents, said the Syrian Defense Ministry on its Facebook page.
The ministry in a statement said the forces operating in the rural areas of Hama and Homs are conducting intensive artillery and rocket fire on the militant’s positions and supply lines, causing losses in their ranks.
A militant commander Hassan Abdel Ghani claimed that they were advancing through Syria, although Bashar al-Assad’s government denied that the army had withdrawn from areas around the capital.
Russia says ‘terrorist group’ cannot be allowed to run Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressing the Doha Forum on Saturday said that Syria must not be allowed to fall into the hands of a “terrorist group”.
“It’s inadmissible to allow the terrorist group to take control of territory in violation of agreements,” Lavrov said, citing a 2015 UN Security Council Resolution which he said “strongly reiterated sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic”.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with the Iraqi Al-Sharqiya channel said that the recent developments in Syria will not be limited to this country, and said that terrorism and developments in Syria also threaten the security of Iraq.
Araghchi stated that the developments are taking place in a fast manner, which raises many questions, and added that behind all these rapid developments, there is a thinking that originates from America and Israel.
“After Gaza, they came to Lebanon and then to Syria, and in my opinion, this will not stop in Syria and the whole region is facing threats,” he added.
The pace of events has stunned the entire region and raised fears of a fresh wave of regional instability, with Qatar saying on Saturday it threatened Syria’s territorial integrity.
QNA reported that the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has held phone calls with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts and discussed the latest developments in Syria.
During the call, the Qatari top diplomat reiterated the country’s clear position calling on all parties to engage in dialogue and understanding to end the Syrian crisis in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and Security Council Resolution 2254.
UN says 370,000 displaced in Syria
The UN secretary-general’s spokesperson has said that at least 370,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Syria since November 27.
“Since the escalation of hostilities, at least 370,000 people including women and children have been displaced, including 100,000 who left their homes more than once,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. The spokesperson said, “Most of the displaced are women and children.”
The Syrian State News Agency (SANA) said the Arida border crossing with Lebanon was out of service due to the attack. Last week, militants launched a surprise offensive and took control of Aleppo city, home to 2 million people.
Syria’s conflict killed over 305,000 people between 2011 and 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Office stated in 2022.
