Syrian government opposition forces say they have arrived “at the entrance to Damascus”, one day after launching an offensive in the Daraa region, in the south of the country.
In a statement, the rebel group Free Syrian Army said the fighters were “at the gates” of the Syrian capital.
Rebels in southern Syria began their offensive in Daraa on Friday (6). In little more than a day, they captured the rural area of the region and appear to be just a few kilometers from the city center.
Videos located by CNN show rebels in places in the southern suburbs of Damascus this Saturday (7).
In Moadamyeh, 10 kilometers southwest of the city center, local residents were seen celebrating in the streets after the withdrawal of regime forces from the suburb, which is close to a military airport.
The insurgents also claimed control of Darayya, west of Moadamyeh.
In Jaramana, to the southeast, residents tore down a sculpture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s father, former President Hafez al-Assad.
Earlier, the rebels said they had begun the “final phase” of the siege of the capital. The Syrian Army has denied withdrawing from Damascus, accusing the rebels of spreading panic.
Understand the conflict in Syria
Syria’s civil war began during the Arab Spring in 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad suppressed a pro-democracy uprising.
The country was plunged into full-scale conflict when a rebel force was formed, known as the Free Syrian Army, to fight government troops.
Furthermore, the Islamic State, a terrorist group, also managed to gain a foothold in the country and came to control 70% of Syrian territory.
Fighting escalated as other regional actors and world powers — from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia — joined in, escalating the country’s war into what some observers described as a “proxy war.”
Russia has allied with Bashar al-Assad’s government to fight the Islamic State and rebels, while the United States has led an international coalition to repel the terrorist group.
After a ceasefire agreement in 2020, the conflict remained largely “dormant”, with minor clashes between the rebels and the Assad regime.
More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the UN, and millions of people have been displaced across the region.
This content was originally published in Syrian rebels say they are “at the entrance to Damascus”, the country’s capital on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil

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