Russia-backed Syria regime bears down on IS town

Beirut / AFP

Russian-backed Syrian regime forces inched closerto a key stop on a vital IS group supply line, as a twin offensive bore down on the extremists’ northern stronghold.
The advance comes as 17 civilians were killed in air raids on a popular market in eastern Syria on the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The UN, meanwhile, backtracked on its plan to move ahead with airdrops of humanitarian aid to Syria, saying it was focusing for now on security access for land convoys. “Our main focus is on land delivery, given the challenges in terms of safety and logistics of air deliveries,” UN spokesman StephaneDujarric said.
In the battleground town of Tabqa, IS fighters are caught between Russian-backed regime forces pushing from the southwest and US-supported Kurdish and Arab fighters from the north.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), last week launched an operation against Tabqa and a nearby dam from the north of Raqa province.
But while they remain 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Tabqa, government forces advanced on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Regime fighters are now within 24 kilometres (15 miles) of Lake Assad, the key reservoir in the Euphrates Valley contained by the Tabqa Dam, said the Britain-based Observatory.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said regime forces were “reinforcing their positions” south of the town, and are less than 25 kilometres from Tabqa airport.

Vow of support
Russia last month floated a proposal for joint air strikes with the US against extremists in Syria, but this was swiftly rejected.
However, a source close to the regime said “there is a joint operations room in Baghdad where the Iraqis and the Syrians are coordinating with the support of the Americans and the Russians”.
Around Tabqa in particular, the source said, it would be “impossible” for the US and Russia to back their respective ground allies if they did not coordinate.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov vowed air support around Aleppo for troops loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad. “(The Americans) know that we will be actively supporting the Syrian army from the air to prevent terrorists from seizing territory,” said Lavrov.
Washington “is asking us and Syrian leadership to delay air strikes” until opposition forces are separated from extremists of IS and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, he said. “We believe there has been more than enough time (for that),” Lavrov said, while adding “there won’t be any surprises for the Americans”.

Residents flee as fighters near IS-held Syria town

Beirut / AFP

Thousands of civilians fled a key town in northern Syria held by the IS group early on Tuesday as US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters closed in, a monitor said.
The Syrian Democratic Forces are advancing on Manbij from three directions after crossing the Euphrates River from their northeastern stronghold last week in a major offensive against the extremists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Overnight, they advanced to within five kilometres (three miles) of Manbij from the north,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahmansaid. Late on Monday, SDF fighters had pushed to within two kilometres (just over a mile) of the town to the south and around seven kilometres (five miles) to the east.
“IS has begun allowing civilians to flee towards the west, whereas before they had banned anyone from leaving,” Abdel Rahman said.