ISIS terrorists, who had retreated against advancing Syrian regime forces in the past few days, shifted on Saturday the battle in southern Damascus against opposition factions, which control three towns surrounding the group’s besieged areas.
Sources in southern Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that pressure exerted by regime troops against some factions to evacuate their positions “forced ISIS to launch strikes against those groups to seize control of their positions and establish a frontline.”
The sources added that such a tactic weakens opposition factions, while it will not contribute to any of ISIS’ ability to launch an attack.
“This tactic will allow regime forces to intensify their attacks and to advance from areas under their control,” they explained.
Separately, Moscow, Tehran and Ankara stressed Saturday on “a political solution to the Syrian conflict” and on enhancing peace efforts in the framework of the Astana talks.
Following a meeting with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts - Mohammad Javad Zarif and Mevlut Cavusoglu - in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the three sides agreed that attempts to divide Syria on ethnic and religious grounds were totally unacceptable.
He added: “We are determined to continue these efforts. We agreed on specific steps that our three countries will take individually and together in order to get us all back to the path leading to the implementation of the [UN Security Council] Resolution 2254.”
The Russian FM reiterated his opposition to the missile strikes launched by the United States and its allies against Syria.
“The trilateral attack not only significantly raised tensions on the international stage, but also considerably damaged the prospects for a political settlement,” he said.
The April 14 Western strike was made in response to the regime’s chemical weapons attack on the town of Douma a week earlier.
