Regime Forces Attack ‘De-escalation Zones’ in East Damascus

File photo: Rebel fighters in Jobar, Syria. Amer Almohibany / AFP
File photo: Rebel fighters in Jobar, Syria. Amer Almohibany / AFP
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Regime Forces Attack ‘De-escalation Zones’ in East Damascus

File photo: Rebel fighters in Jobar, Syria. Amer Almohibany / AFP
File photo: Rebel fighters in Jobar, Syria. Amer Almohibany / AFP

Syrian regime forces have made reinforcements on the Jobar and Ein Tarma fronts, east of Damascus, while the opposition forces thwarted the attack.

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces said targeting residential areas and medical centers serves the terrorist groups’ interest.

Failaq al-Rahman announced that it thwarted an attempt by the 4th Armored Division to storm Ein Tarma region, killing dozens of the regime forces and armed men supporting them. An officer in Failaq al-Rahman stated that after the regime forces’ failure to launch the attack, they shelled Jobar and Ein Tarma as well as Jesrin town.

Jobar and Ein Tarma fall under the de-escalation zones in tandem with an agreement signed between Failaq al-Rahman and the Russian party mid-August.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Wednesday that fierce clashes were ongoing in Damascus and its outskirts of eastern Ghouta between the regime forces and their militias from one side and Failaq al-Rahman fighters from the other.

Further, the negotiations’ committee of Eastern Qalamoun held a round of talks with the Russian side in the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Syrian regime figures. The meeting discussed the current situation and the strict measures on civilians in Eastern Qalamoun.

The escalation in Damascus and Ghouta witnessed similar tension in the north of Syria where airstrikes targeted Aleppo’s countryside, leading to the destruction of a school but without causing any injuries, revealed SOHR.

In a related matter, Russia said that airstrikes in Idlib have killed five prominent field commanders and 32 members of al-Nusra Front. Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the airstrikes also destroyed militant ammunition depots and military vehicles.



Red Sea Marine Traffic Up 60% after Houthis Narrowed Targets

Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Red Sea Marine Traffic Up 60% after Houthis Narrowed Targets

Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU's Aspides naval mission.

The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the US and the extremist group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid.

But shipping traffic, which reached a low of 20-23 ships daily in August last year, is still short of an average of 72-75 ships a day seen before the Houthis began attacks in the Red Sea in November in 2023 in support of Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza, said Gryparis according to Reuters.

The mission, which was established to safeguard navigation in the strategic trade route linking the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Asia through the Suez Canal, was extended in February when it was also tasked with tracking illegal arms shipments and monitoring vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil.

The last attack on a merchant ship took place in November 2024 and the Houthis have also narrowed their objectives, saying their targets are Israeli ships and ships that have a connection with Israel or have docked at an Israeli port, Gryparis said.

"If you have a vessel that does not correspond to this criteria... there is a huge possibility - more than 99% - that you're not going to be targeted by the Houthis," Gryparis said.

Still, Gryparis said he could not guarantee that merchant ships won't be attacked.

Some companies have been deterred from using the route because of the mission's lack of ships, which can cause delays of as much as a week for those seeking to be escorted through the area, he said.

He said the mission has between two and three ships operating at one time and has requested the EU provide it with 10 ships to increase its capacity for protection.

The mission has provided close protection to 476 ships, shot down 18 drones, destroyed two remote-controlled boats used to attack ships and intercepted four ballistic missiles, he said.