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News ID: 52094
Publish Date : 22 April 2018 - 20:31

Syrian Jets Pound Terrorists’ Enclave Near Damascus

BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Air strikes pounded a terrorist-held area near Damascus on Sunday, footage broadcast by state TV stations showed, as the Syrian government stepped up efforts to wipe out the terrorism’s last foothold near the capital.
Thick clouds of smoke rose from the al-Hajar al-Aswad district as the sound of jets could be heard overhead in the live broadcasts from the area.
The area is part of an enclave just south of Damascus that includes the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk and is controlled by Daesh and Nusra Front terrorists.
It is adjoined by a pocket held by other terrorist groups fighting under the so-called Free Syrian Army banner.
President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, is seeking to crush the last few besieged terrorist enclaves, building on the defeat of terrorists in the eastern Ghouta region, which was the terrorists’ last major stronghold near the capital.
In another development, the fact-finding mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) entered Damascus' eastern Douma district on Saturday to look into allegations of chemical weapons use, marking the first visit since the team arrived in Damascus last week.
The OPCW said in a statement that its experts visited one of the sites in Douma to collect samples for analysis in connection with the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma on April 7.
The OPCW will evaluate the situation and consider steps including another possible visit to Douma, according to the statement.
It added that the collected samples will be transported to the OPCW laboratories in Rijswijk, Netherlands for analysis.
This comes as the UN security team entered Douma on Friday to assess the security situation before the visit of the OPCW experts after a previous attempt that ended with the security team returning to Damascus after coming under small arms fire.
The United States, France and Britain conducted missile strikes against Syrian targets this month after the alleged chemical weapons attack that Assad and Moscow deny carrying out.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urged Russia to help solve the Syria crisis as he set off for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialized nations in Toronto.
The Syrian conflict has badly damaged already strained relations between the West and Russia, which backs President Assad.
 "We need constructive contributions from Russia to reach a peaceful solution,” Maas told reporters before his flight, adding that this was equally true of the Ukraine conflict, which the G7 foreign ministers are also due to discuss.
Russia is not a member of the G7 and will not be taking part in the meeting.

A man rides a motorbike along a street in the city of Douma, Syria, April 20, 2018.