Syrian govt forces claim to regain Damascus

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian security forces on Tuesday, January 31, continued wide-scale military operations against rebel forces, claiming gains against the “outlaws,” M&C reported quoting DPA.

However, fighting continued against defectors who have joined the ranks of the opposition on the outskirts of the capital.

Syria's state-television reported that the operation carried out by 'the courageous troops of the country' resulted in returning stability to al-Ghotta and nearby regions, only eight kilometers away from Damascus.

The broadcaster quoting an unnamed Interior Ministry source saying “our forces managed to cleanse the area from terrorists.”

Since Sunday, fierce clashes have been raging between regular army troops and defectors, who managed to take control of several areas at the outskirts of Damascus. Activists reported that members of the Free Syrian Army have retreated from areas close to the Damascus suburbs area after army forces launched a wide-scale operation backed by tanks in the area. They added the more than 150 people had been rounded up in the area of al-Ghotta and its neighbourhoods since Monday morning.

The Local Coordination Committees, a group that coordinates anti-regime protests on the ground, said in a statement that 100 people were killed on Monday, most of whom were in areas located in Damascus Suburbs. The intensified violence came as the UN Security Council is due to meet later Tuesday in what was described to be a 'heated meeting' over Syria.