DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s military mentioned Monday it was in full management of the capital Damascus and its outskirts after ousting the Islamic State group, marking a main milestone within the seven-year battle.
“The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure,” it mentioned in an assertion carried on official media.
The growth got here after troops had captured a key southern portion of Damascus from IS, the assertion mentioned, together with the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and the adjoining district of Hajar al-Aswad.
“The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified,” it added.
Syria’s battle erupted in 2011 with protests towards President Bashar Assad, together with within the capital.
The following 12 months, the federal government started shedding management of elements of Damascus and positioned a crippling siege round Yarmouk, which lies within the capital’s south.
The military’s announcement got here hours after a tenuous evacuation deal noticed a whole lot of IS fighters and their kinfolk give up Yarmouk, in accordance with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The authorities has denied reaching a take care of IS. It mentioned a transient ceasefire had allowed one convoy of ladies and kids to depart the pocket in southern Damascus.
Since final 12 months, Syria’s authorities has cleared swathes of territory round Damascus from its armed opponents by way of a mix of army strain and evacuation offers.