ANKARA/AMMAN: Syrian regime troops backed by Russian air power stepped up their attacks on Sunday in areas of Deir Ezzor still held by Daesh.
Russian jets carried out heavy airstrikes on eastern Syria鈥檚 largest city as troops pushed toward the Hay Al-Umal area, which overlooks some of the remaining Daesh-held neighborhoods where an estimated 1,500 civilians are trapped.
The Syrian regime has gradually tightened the noose around Daesh after the army opened a land route into Deir Ezzor in September with the help of Russian airstrikes and Iran-backed militias, breaking a siege that had lasted nearly three years.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the fighting in the province, the last stronghold of Daesh. 鈥淭he situation is catastrophic, there are families under the rubble and others who fled have no shelter,鈥� Sheikh Awad Al-Hajjr, a tribal leader, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a seventh round of peace talks begins on Monday in Astana, where Russia and Turkey will continue their coordination on Syria. The northwestern province of Idlib is expected to dominate the agenda at the two-day meeting.
鈥淭he Turkish Army is working very closely with Russia to secure and monitor the de-escalation zone in Idlib,鈥� Emre Ersen, a Syria analyst at Marmara University in Istanbul, told Arab News.
鈥淩ussia expects Turkey to play an influential role there in keeping rebel groups away from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.鈥�
Turkish and Russian interests converge on the need to develop an efficient dialogue mechanism regarding current and potential developments in their neighborhood, said Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, head of ANKASAM, a think tank in Ankara.
鈥淭he Astana peace process confirmed that both parties will cooperate to end the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and to preserve their territorial integrity,鈥� Erol told Arab News.
Also on Sunday, Damascus said it still considered Raqqa an occupied city, less than two weeks after Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) drove Daesh out of its one-time Syrian capital.
鈥淩aqqa is still an occupied city and cannot be considered liberated until the entry of the Syrian army, which is fighting IS (Daesh) along with its allies,鈥� the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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