Over 30 people were killed in military operations by the Assad regime forces and the Hezbollah militias in several areas across Syria on Sunday. Activists on Sunday recorded at least 20 violations of the truce which went into effect in December 29, 2016.
Activists in the Wadi Barada valley in Rural Damascus said that regime forces continue to pound the villages in the area with airstrikes, heavy artillery and tank shells. Despite the intense bombardment, the FSA and rebel fighters repelled attempts by regime forces and their allies to advance on the village of Ayn Alfija, with reports of casualties among the attacking forces.
Regime forces, the Hezbollah militias, and militias of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched a large-scale assault on the Wadi Barada valley nearly a month ago despite the Russian and Turkish-backed ceasefire agreement which was adopted under the United Nations in the UN Security Council resolution 2336. The onslaught was launched on the pretext of the presence of ISIS and Fateh Alsham militants in the area, which is held exclusively by local rebels.
The relentless, indiscriminate bombardment on the Wadi Barada valley left hundreds of people dead or wounded and caused severe damage to Ayn Alfija water facility. Nearly 6 million people in Damascus and its countryside have been denied access to clean water for over a month as a result of the damage caused to the water facility.
In rural Hama, meanwhile, activists said that the Assad regime’s air force hit the towns of Kafar Zeita, Alsayyad, Lataminah, and the village of Bteish with vacuum bombs.
Assad regime airstrikes left dozens of people killed and injured in the towns of Rastan, Talbeesa, Taldo, Ghanto, Ghirnata, and Farhaniya Alsharqiya in rural Homs. Several people were also killed and injured in airstrikes on the villages of Hajib, Aleis, and Alhiss in southern rural Aleppo as well as on the village of Kafar Joum in western rural Aleppo.
Muhammad Alloush, head of opposition’s negotiating delegation to the Astana meeting, called for the cessation of all military operations in Syria during the opening session of the conference that began in the Kazakh capital Astana on Monday.
Alloush called for the enforcement of all UN resolutions on Syria, stressing the need for the withdrawal of all foreign militants from Syria. He reiterated calls to designate all foreign militias fighting in Syria as terrorist organizations as their presence in Syria undermines all chances to implement ceasefire and further contributes to the bloodshed in Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
