Syria’s government forces fight militants in Golan Heights
Latest reports say a series of fresh violent clashes have erupted between Syrian government forces and foreign-backed militants in the Golan Heights.
Syrian security officials said on Saturday that renewed heaving fighting is underway between Syrian army forces and foreign-backed militants in the city of Quneitra in the region.
The volatile city is located some 60 kilometers south of the capital, Damascus.
Sources say the militants are from the so-called Free Syrian Army and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the Syrian government, has said that Syrian government troops heavily shelled areas on the outskirts of Quneitra, killing at least 16 militants.
Syrian state TV said government soldiers killed a number of militants on the edges of Quneitra and destroyed their weapons and hideouts.
The Syrian government troops have been battling militants in the area since they seized control of a UN-operated crossing last week and abducted 45 UN peacekeepers from Fiji.
Several international bodies and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have strongly condemned the assaults against the peacekeepers. More than 190,000 people have been killed in over three years of foreign-backed militancy in Syria, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Over the past months, the Syrian army has achieved major victories in its battle against Takfiri groups across the country.
The Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and, Turkey — are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
