M
ore than 100 people were killed and hundreds wounded in fighting on multiple fronts in Syria over the weekend. Most the deaths and injuries were caused by Syrian government bombardments and supporting Russian air strikes against opposition forces near Aleppo and Damascus, the embattled country’s two largest cities. Russian and Turkish warplanes also targeted Islamic State [IS] forces in the north of the country, where the group also came under attack from a coalition of US-backed Kurdish and Syrian opposition forces. However, IS still seized the central town of Maheen on Sunday as it advanced towards the national highway linking the capital Damascus with the north of Syria.
What you need to know:
At least 70 people have been killed and 550 wounded in government strikes against the rebel-held town of Douma, east of Damascus, between Thursday and Saturday, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). At least 59 people, including five children, were killed on Friday when more than a dozen rockets struck the Douma marketplace.
On Saturday, more than 60 people were killed in Syrian army raids and Russian air strikes on Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. A further 32 civilians, 12 of them children, were killed during Syrian government forces’ bombing of opposition-held areas of the city on Friday.
A coalition of US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the opposition Syrian Democratic Forces, who formed an alliance last month, on Friday launched their first operation against Islamic State militants occupying southern parts of the northeastern province of Hasakeh. Their ground attacks against IS are reportedly being supported by US-led coalition airstrikes.
IS fighters captured the town of Maheen, in central Homs province, from government forces on Sunday, bringing the jihadi group to within 20km of the main road linking Damascus to Homs and cities further north. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 50 government soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting in Maheen, which is home to a large military complex and arms depot.
Turkish warplanes bombed IS positions in northern Syria on Saturday, the day before the Turkish general election, as Ankara stepped up action against the group after it claimed responsibility for the recent suicide bombing of a peace rally in the Turkish capital, which killed more than 100
The full story:
AFP reports on the offensive launched by the YPG-SDF alliance against IS forces in Hasakeh.
New U.S.-backed Syria militia hits ISIS
Middle East Eye has this report on the government attacks on Douma and Aleppo.
70 killed, 550 wounded in attacks on Syria's Douma market: MSF
The BBC reports on the IS capture of Maheen.
Syrian conflict: Islamic State advances in Homs Province - BBC News
Reuters has this story on the Turkish bombing of IS positions.
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