Syrian Army Claims Recapture of Rebel-held Town

A day after a U.N.-led donor conference pledged $10 billion for Syria humanitarian relief, Syrian government forces, supported by allied fighters and Russian warplanes, recaptured a rebel-held town near Deraa, according to Hezbollah's Al Manar television and a Syrian monitoring group Friday.


Syrian forces seized Ataman, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) north of Deraa, in the country's south. The assault was aided by dozens of airstrikes believed to have been carried out by Russian planes, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In recent days, the Syrian army and its allies have also made significant advances against rebels in the northern province of Aleppo.

The Russian-backed assaults helped derail peace talks in Geneva earlier this week, with Syrian government officials walking away from the talks after claiming they had ended the rebel siege of two Shi'ite villages in Aleppo, handing President Bashar al-Assad's government a major victory.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the conference in London Friday up to 71,236.38 people were headed toward his country to escape an offensive led by regime troops around Aleppo.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Friday for consultations with U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura over the breakdown of the negotiations, which were suspended until February 25.
 voanews.com
5/2/16
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• The US and France have accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of undermining talks to end Syria's civil war, which were suspended hours before donors were due to meet on Feb. 4 to raise aid for the conflict-torn country...

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