Syrian army retakes Eastren Ghouta areas in counter-terrorism campaign

The Syrian army has launched a ground operation against the al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups in the Eastren Ghouta region, wresting control over some areas.

Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam news channel reported the recapture of the Nashabeya and Hazrma areas as well as Farzat Hill by the Syrian military on Sunday.

It also said that Syrian army soldiers had advanced in al-Zariqiya as terrorists fled the region.

The fresh campaign is aimed at gaining control of  the neighborhoods occupied by the Takfiri terrorists in the suburbs of the capital Damascus.

The operation came one day after the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire across Syria to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

The truce does not apply to operations against the Daesh, al-Qaeda and al-Nusra Front along with “individuals, groups, undertakings and entities” associated with the terrorist groups.

It also allows the Syrian government’s operation to continue against terrorists in Idlib Province, the country’s largest remaining militant stronghold.

Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari stressed on Saturday that his government preserved the right to retaliate against terrorist attacks on civilians.

“We practice a sovereign right of self-defense and we will continue to fight terrorism wherever it is found on Syrian soil,” he said.

The Syrian envoy also urged some Western countries to stop spending billions of dollars on supporting, financing and arming the terror outfits and allow the Syrian people to determine their own future.

”These governments should also recognize that the strategic schemes to divide Syria and to change the governing system in it by force and to guarantee the continuity of terrorism and the illegal military presence on our territories will not succeed,” he said.