Jaysh Al-Islam Rejects Ceasefire Deal; Syrian Army Advances in the Jobar District

After rumors of a possible ceasefire deal between the Syrian Government and Jaysh Al-Islam that would have them join forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, the leader of the latter – Zahran Alloush – has publicly issued a statement of denial. Despite denying his negotiations with the Syrian Government, a source close to Al-Masdar News revealed that Zahran Alloush had sent 2 village elders to meet with members of the government in order to broker a ceasefire deal.

At the Jobar District, the Syrian Arab Army’s 105th Brigade of the Republican Guard and the National Defenses (NDF) have advanced east of the Jobar Gymnasium, 4 days after progressing to the Jobar Industrial School. Fierce firefights are still ongoing near the Jobar Industrial School, Parliament Square, and Al-Manasheer Roundabout, where both sides have exchanged a barrage of gunfire and mortar shells during this tug-of-war battle.

A prominent Jaysh Al-Islam field commander was reportedly killed at Jobar yesterday – Hadi Al-Sabraati was found with Libyan documents and a forged Syrian passport. Al-Sabraati becomes the 6th Jaysh Al-Islam field commander to be killed in Jobar over the last 3 months.