Syrian Army Captures Last Rebel-Controlled Area Around Damascus

According to the Syrian army, by driving out ISIS militants from an area around Damascus, government forces have managed to take full control of all areas surrounding the capital for the first time since the start of the seven-year Syrian war. As reported on Monday by Reuters, pro-government forces have been engaged in battles for weeks to reclaim the Hajar al-Aswad area and the Yarmouk Palestinian camp adjacent to it from ISIS since capturing Eastern Ghouta in April. The Syrian army's command announced in a televised statement that militants have been expelled from Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk. The statement said, 'Damascus and its surroundings and the rural areas around it are now completely secure, and the Syrian army will continue its fight against terrorism.' The Bashar al-Assad government is now in its strongest position since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, having captured all areas surrounding Damascus. Over half a million people have been killed in the civil war, and more than half of the country's population has been displaced or migrated. Rebel forces opposing Bashar al-Assad now essentially control two large areas in the northwest near the Turkish border and the southwest near the Jordanian border. American and Turkish military forces are also stationed and active in some areas of Syria that are not under government control. ISIS, which suffered significant defeats in the Euphrates Valley last year, now controls only two small besieged desert areas in eastern Syria. Another rebel group that has pledged allegiance to ISIS currently holds a small area in southwestern Syria. According to Syrian state media, a humanitarian ceasefire was established in Hajar al-Aswad on Sunday night for the evacuation of women, children, and the elderly from the area. Reuters adds that on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects and publishes war news, reported that ISIS fighters had surrendered under an agreement and were leaving the area to head east. However, Syrian state media stated that battles are still ongoing. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that buses carrying militants left Hajar al-Aswad on Monday and headed towards areas controlled by the group in Damascus. The U.S.-led international coalition fighting ISIS informed Reuters that it is aware of the evacuation of Yarmouk and the southern areas around Damascus and is monitoring the situation. The report indicates that despite Bashar al-Assad's promise to reclaim 'every inch' of Syrian territory, the current map of conflicts and front lines suggests a complex period ahead. American forces are stationed and active in eastern and northeastern Syria, which is controlled by Kurdish groups seeking autonomy from the central government. The U.S. has engaged with Syrian government forces to protect these areas. Turkey has sent its forces to fight against Syrian Kurdish groups in the northwest and has created a buffer zone that some Syrian rebel groups have used to reorganize. In areas controlled by rebels in the southwest, near the borders with Jordan and Israel, Bashar al-Assad's forces face the risk of confrontation with Israel, which does not want Iranian-backed militants to approach its borders.