SANA: Rebels Pushed Out of Damascus Suburb
Syrian government forces have pushed rebels battling to topple President Bashar Assad out of a key district on the edge of Damascus, the country's state news agency reported Tuesday.
If confirmed, the regime's latest gain would bolster the defenses of the Syrian capital and further shift the balance of power Assad's way in the civil war.
In the past two months, the Syrian army has moved steadily against rebels in key battleground areas, making strategic advances near the border with Lebanon and considerably lowering the threat to Damascus, the seat of Assad's government.
State-ran SANA new agency said Tuesday that government troops "restored security and stability to some vital areas" in Jubar, a district on the northeastern edge of the capital from where the rebels had been trying to push into Damascus for weeks.
The troops have flushed "terrorists" out of positions they have been using to fire mortars into Damascus' residential areas, the report said but gave no further details.
The Syrian government has consistently denied it's facing a popular uprising since the revolt against Assad's rule erupted in March 2011, insisting that the army is fighting foreign-backed terrorists who want to destroy the country.
Source: Associated Press
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