BEIRUT (AP) – Syrian government forces and allied militias made a swift advance into Damascus’s rebel-held suburbs on Thursday, threatening to disrupt a years-long stalemate in the war around the Syrian capital.
The development came as the U.N. envoy for the war-torn country vowed in Geneva that peace talks “are not going to be abandoned, frankly, ever.”
The envoy, Staffan de Mistura, said he was waiting to see “gestures” following a Vienna meeting of world and regional powers earlier this week before setting a target date for the resumption of U.N.-mediated indirect talks between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s representatives and opposition groups.
Fighting in Syria continued in earnest Thursday as air and missile-strikes pounded rebel positions in Damascus’s eastern Ghouta suburb, clearing the way for soldiers and Hezbollah militants to seize valuable farmland that nourished residents trapped in the blockaded area, according to two activist groups, the Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
An opposition media activist inside the Ghouta enclave said news of the advance is a blow to the opposition. “It is agricultural land,” said the activist of the area of the push, speaking on condition of anonymity fearing for his safety.