Damascus time zero: A breath from the city the rebels, fortified the army – Assad seeks allies

In a state of panic is the as the rebels are now within a few kilometers and having conquered several cities in the west and north. The big battle in Damascus between the army and the rebels, while Bashar Al Assad is in the search for allies to remain in power. The rebels have now been in the suburbs in Damascus, for the first time since the region was recaptured by government troops in 2018 and Assad’s consolidation in Syria. One resident told the Associated Press that the city is in a state of frustration, with security forces on the streets and many stores running out of food and other basic types of survival. Syria’s army withdrew from much of the country’s southern regions on Saturday (07/12/2024) but as it later became known it fortifies positions in the suburbs of Damascus and the south. “Our units strengthen their lines in the countryside of Damascus and in the southern part of the country,” said a spokesman for the general army administration in an announcement broadcast by television. He also stated that the army is launching operations against the rebels in the “agro-regions of Hama and Homs and in the north of the countryside of Dera”, a city in southern Syria. At the same time the commander of the Syrian rebels, Hassan Abdul Gani, said today that rebel forces occupied a camp and a number of villages around the city of Homs. Syrian rebels also occupied Homs’ central prison and released hundreds of prisoners, said two sources of the rebels. The organization of Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sam, considered a former branch of al-Qaeda, said it has a duty to protect the offices of government agencies, international organisations and the UN in Syria. He also stated that he has no intention of using chemical weapons, which Syrian authorities have under their control, “under no circumstances”. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano Lebanon said it closes all its land border crossings with Syria, except for a gentleman linking Beirut to Damascus, while Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria due to the prevailing situation. Assad seeks allies to remain in power Bashar Al Assad makes a last attempt to remain in power and as he sees that his traditional allies are leaving him or cannot help him. So he’s looking for channels of communication with the United States. Indeed, as Bloomberg reports, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has already contacted the US through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and offered to cut all ties with both Iran and Hezbollah, if the West helps him to remain in power. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has clearly stated that the US should not engage in Syria as it “is not their war” and seems to recognise Assad’s alliance with Russia. Five Arab states along with Iran, Turkey and Russia are seeking a political solution to the conflict Five Arab countries together with Iran, Turkey and Russia have said that a political solution is needed to stop military operations and protect civilians in Syria. In a joint statement released by the foreign ministers of these countries after meeting in Doha, they stressed that the Syrian crisis poses a threat to regional and international security. Israel, UN Faces Outpost Attack in Syria Together The Israeli military has announced today that it is helping UN forces to “repel” an attack on Syria on the border with the part of the Syrian Golan elevation that has occupied and annexed Israel. “Universaries attacked a UN outpost in the Hunter region of Syria,” the military stressed in a statement, referring to a city located on the edge of the UN-controlled neutral zone in Golan, pointing out that it “helps UN forces to ward off the attack”. The Israeli army says it strengthened its forces in this area, which Israel captured from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1974, a UN force was sent to a neutral zone to monitor the observance of the truce. As rebels under the command of radical Islamists have been making a spectacular attack on Syria over the past week, the Israeli military has stated that it will continue to act “to protect the state of Israel and its citizens”.