Thousands evacuated as Syrian offensives spark exodus

DAMASCUS - Thousands of civilians streamed out of their towns on Saturday to escape battles in the north and south of Syria, where two different offensives have prompted an exodus in recent days.

A new wave of people fled a rebel pocket to army lines in eastern Ghouta near the capital Damascus, as rescuers and a monitor said airstrikes pounded the besieged zone.

In the northern Afrin region, people fled as Turkish war planes struck the main town, Syrian Kurdish forces and the monitor said. More than 150,000 people have left the town in the last few days, a senior Kurdish official said.

The two offensives - one by the Syrian army with Russia's support, the other led by Turkey with allied Syrian rebels - entered decisive phases this week.

In its monthlong assault, the Syrian military has marched into much of eastern Ghouta, the last major insurgent bastion around the capital.

Troops splintered Ghouta into three besieged zones in one of the bloodiest offensives of the seven-year war. Residents came out in their thousands this week for the first time, from the southern pocket around Hammouriyeh town.

As many as 30,000 civilians were evacuated from rebelheld areas in eastern Ghouta on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.

The mass evacuation took place through two crossings, one in the Hamouriyeh area and the other near the Water Resources facility in Harasta area in eastern Ghouta.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 50,000 civilians have been evacuated over the past 72 hours.

Meanwhile, Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels have taken control of Afrin city center after two months of fighting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

"At this moment Turkish flag is flapping there; the Free Syrian Army flag is flapping," Erdogan said.

Turkey started a military campaign in Afrin district in northwestern Syria on Jan 20 to drive out Kurdish militants, who are seen by Ankara as terrorists.

Xinhua - Ap

(China Daily 03/19/2018 page11)