Syria Army And Armed Group, Hezbollah In Major Assault Near Damascus

The Syrian army backed by the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah launched an assult on the city of Zabadani, near Damascus, in a fresh push to seize the last rebel stronghold along Lebanon’s border.Aljazeera was there:

Syrian TV reported on Saturday that President Bashar al-Assad’s troops closed in on the rebels “on several fronts” and had inflicted heavy casualties on the fighters.

Hezbollah TV station earlier said the Syrian army and its air force had begun a major aerial bombing campaign against rebel outposts along the Lebanese border. It showed footage of plumes of smoke hanging over Zabadani. Helicopters belonginig to the Syrian army asking residents to stay away from “sites, arm depots and supply routes used by terrorists.”

On Friday, rebels captured several military posts on the outskirts of Zabadani belonging to the army and Hezbollah, as part of a pre-emptive attack they named “the revolutionary volcano”. Opposition fighters have been in control of the city, located 50km northwest of Damascus, since 2012, despite several attempts by Assad’s troops to retake it. The city has witnessed near daily shelling since then.