Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Makes Major Advances in Eastern Ghouta

The Syrian army made major advances in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside in the past 24 hours.
The army units continued their advances in Meliha town in Eastern Ghouta on Friday after other army units backed by massive air and artillery fire regained control in over 90 percent of the country’s bordering areas with Lebanon.
Also in the past 24 others, the Syrian army widened its deployment in Al-Qalamoun after it had captured the last militant strongholds in the town of Rankus, and the army also regained control over all the residential areas in Aleppo’s town of al-Zahraa.
The Syrian armed forces confronted militants’ attempt to attack al-Amiriyeh area near Salah Eddin neighborhood in the city of Aleppo, killing scores of anti-government fighters and injuring others.
The Syrian troops also targeted insurgents’ gatherings in Alliramoon, the Industrial city, Heritan, surrounding the Central Prison, Kwairis, al-Rashidin 4, Khan Touman, Hmimeh, al-Atareb, Andan, the old city of Aleppo, Kafr Hamra, Dahret Abed-Rabouh, al-Fardous, al-Hadadin, al-Wdaihi and Maaret al-Artiq. The army also killed scores of rebels and destroyed their cars.
Meantime, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad branded the western rejection of the upcoming presidential elections in Syria as insolence and interference in the Syrians’ decision.
“Their (western powers) insolence has reached a point of interfering in the Syrians’ decision to partake or not in the presidential elections,” Meqdad said, stressing that we will carry out these elections because the Syrian people want these elections.
His remarks came at a time when the war-torn country is bracing for the elections due in July amid objection from the western backers of the Syrian opposition, who called the elections a parody of democracy.
The Syrian official said his government “will take into consideration all of the standards and values that have been adopted in the latest electoral law”.
Also, military experts said that the overthrow of the Syrian government has become almost impossible as the army has the upper-hand in fight against rebels in various battlefields across the crisis-hit country.
The recent military developments on many Syrian regions and the achievements in Yabroud and Rankous represent a major and devastating blow to the Takfiri groups in Syria, the experts said.
Meantime, Jordan is expected to usher in a major shift in its policies towards Syria, after the recent clashes between the Jordanian forces and Takfiri groups across the border. Jordanian authorities are convinced those groups have become more dangerous to Jordan’s security than to Syria.
Elsewhere, the military sources said that the Syrian Armed Forces continued attacks on militants’ dens and gatherings in Idlib, Hama and Homs, killing and injuring a huge amount of anti-government fighters and injuring many others.
A military source said that the rebels’ gatherings were targeted by the Syrian armed forces, who killed dozens of gunmen and injured some others, in al-Khazanat area in Khan Sheikhoun in the Southern countryside of Idlib.
Army units attacked rebel groups near Maaret al-Noman and Abu al-Dohour town in the Province, killing many terrorists and injuring others.
An army unit foiled a militants’ infiltration attempt near Tal Waset village in al-Ghab Plain area in Hama, killing many rebels and injuring others.