Syria agrees to deal for Daesh terrorists to leave Western Qalamoun

The Syrian government has agreed to a deal between the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and Daesh Takfiri terrorists, which allows the transfer of the latter from  the strategic and mountainous region of Qalamoun close to the border with Lebanon to eastern Syria.

“After the successes achieved by Syria armed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah resistance fighters in the Western Qalamoun, the deal arranged between Hezbollah and the terrorist Daesh group on the withdrawal of the remaining Daesh terrorists from Western Qalamoun towards the eastern part of Syria has been approved,” Syria’s official news agency SANA reported, citing an unnamed military source.

On August 19, Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched an operation to purge Daesh from Qalamoun, located about 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of the Syrian capital Damascus.

Hezbollah launched a major push on July 21 to clear both sides of Lebanon's border with Syria of “armed terrorists.”

In August 2014, the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Daesh terrorist groups overran Arsal, killing a number of Lebanese forces. They took 30 soldiers hostage, most of whom have been released.

Since then, Hezbollah and the Lebanese military have been defending Lebanon on the country’s northeastern frontier against foreign-backed terrorist groups from neighboring Syria.

Hezbollah fighters have fended off several Daesh attacks inside Lebanon. They have also been providing assistance to Syrian army forces to counter the ongoing foreign-sponsored militancy.

The movement has accused Israel of supporting Takfiri terrorists operating in the Middle East.

Israel, which continues to occupy Lebanon’s Shebaa Farms and Syria’s Golan Heights, is widely reported to be offering medical help to Takfiri terrorists injured in Syria. In December 2015, British newspaper the Daily Mail said Israel had saved the lives of more than 2,000 Takfiri militants since 2013.

‘Daesh sets up mines, booby-traps against civilians fleeing Raqqah’ 

Meanwhile, a media official of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has pointed to the dramatic humanitarian situation in Syria’s militant-held northern city of Raqqah, stating that Daesh Takfiris have killed a large number of civilians.

“The terrorists use civilians as human shields. They set up mines and other explosive devices on the roads, which civilians use in order to escape. Thus, all those who try to leave the city are in mortal danger,” Mustafa Balli said.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Syria, Fran Equiza, warned in a statement on Friday that thousands of children, who remain trapped in Raqqah are cut off from life-saving assistance as their food supplies are quickly running out.

“According to reports that UNICEF is receiving from inside Raqqah, several thousand children continue to be trapped in the city, caught in the direct line of fire,” Equiza stated.

He added, “With no access for humanitarian agencies, the city is completely cut off from lifesaving assistance. Children and families have little or no safe water while food supplies are running out fast.”

The city of Raqqah, which lies on the northern bank of the Euphrates River, was overrun by Daesh terrorists in March 2013, and was proclaimed the center for most of the Takfiris’ administrative and control tasks the following year. 

It is estimated that some 300,000 civilians are trapped inside Raqqah, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria. Thousands have fled in recent months, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs believes about 160,000 people remain in the city.

On June 6, the US-backed SDF militiamen said they had launched an operation aimed at pushing Daesh out of Raqqah.

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