As international attention has shifted to the fight against Islamic State militants in eastern Syria, a little-noticed but bitter struggle continues on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. With a population of about 450,000, the area east of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta has been under siege by the Syrian army since 2013. Its story is not unlike that of east Aleppo, where rebels stubbornly held ground for years in Syria’s second-largest city. Syrian rebel fighters hold a position inside a tunnel in Ain Tarma, in the eastern Ghouta area, a rebel stronghold east of the capital, Damascus, on Aug. 16. But Lund said it’s unclear how quickly the government will move to retake the rebel-held areas of east Damascus.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 31, 2017 16:43 UTC