Syrian Army, Hezbollah resume offensive in East Ghouta after ceasefire expires

The Syrian Arab Army’s 102nd Brigade – backed by Hezbollah, the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) and National Defense Forces (NDF) – have restarted their offensive in the East Ghouta region of rural Damascus after a 24 hour ceasefire was announced on Friday morning.

The assault resumed at 1 A.M. (Damascus Time) when the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah stormed Al-Rukabiyah once again, seizing every checkpoint from Jaysh Al-Islam (Army of Islam) inside this village.

Currently, the Syrian Armed Armed Forces and Hezbollah are on the move in Al-Rukabiyah; they are in control of 80 percent of the village and only have a small portion left to capture before it will be fully seized.

The purpose of this offensive is to clear the highway near the Damascus International Airport; if successful, they will have the strategic town of Dayr Al-‘Assifir become inaccessible to the rebel forces.

More importantly, capturing Al-Rukabiyah will properly position the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah for the imminent Dayr Al-‘Assifir offensive. The rebel forces protecting this village are Jaysh Al-Islam (Army of Islam) and Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group).