Jaysh al-Islam fighters in the Eastern Qalamun region, Illustrative image.
On April 5, a source in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) revealed to SouthFront that the SAA and the Tiger Forces had deployed several well-armed units around the besieged Eastern Qalamun region, 30km north of the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Russia given the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in the Eastern Qalamun region a second chance to accept a reconciliation or an evacuation agreement on April 4. However, the local negotiation committee of the region announced its withdrawal from the negotiation with Russia a day later.
Spokesman of the local negotiation committee Maher Hilal announced that the committee opted to withdraw from the negotiation after it had been accused of “treason” and had even assaultd by the FSA. The headquarters of the committee in Jayrud town was burned down by FSA fighters on April 4.
Local sources of said that more than 2,000 militiamen and civilians signed up for a reconciliation agreement with the Damascus government in the committee’s headquarters, which provoked the FSA attack on it.
The deployment of more troops around the Eastern Qalamun region is likely aimed at increasing pressure on the FSA groups there, as a last attempt to push them back to the negotiation table. If this attempt fails, the SAA and the Tiger Forces will be ready to implement a military solution there, according to Syrian pro-government activists.
