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1st LD: Report says Syrian army captures key town east of Damascus

Xinhua, May 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Syrian army on Thursday captured a key town in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus following battles against rebels groups, a monitor group reported.

Syrian government troops stormed the town of Deir al-Asafir, one of the most important rebel bastions in the eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus, for the first time in four years.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which says it depends on a network of activists on the ground inside Syria, said hundreds of families have fled Deir al-Asafir.

The Observatory said the Syrian forces are expected to control large swathes in the southeastern parts of the eastern Ghouta region.

In previous reports, the Observatory said the Syrian army managed to capitalize on the infighting among the rebel groups in eastern Ghouta to capture areas in the key region near Damascus. Endit