Syria rebel gains as UN raps govt evacuation ‘strategy’

Beirut, Sep 1 (AFP) Rebels and jihadists battledpro-government forces in the central Syrian province of Hamatoday as the country’s UN envoy warned that more people couldbe forcibly evacuated from towns besieged by the regime. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring groupsaid at least 25 civilians, including children, were killed ingovernment air strikes as fighting raged in Hama, south of theopposition-held Idlib province. Anti-government groups, which include jihadists and SunniIslamists, launched an offensive in Hama on Monday aimed atretaking its airport, where regime helicopters fly regularsorties against opposition fighters. "They are about 10 kilometres from the airport" in Hama,Syria’s fourth-largest city, said Observatory director RamiAbdel Rahman, whose group relies on a broad network of sourcesinside Syria. The rebels are also likely seeking to ease pressure onopposition fighters in the battleground second city of Aleppoby distracting regime forces ahead of mooted peace talks,which the United Nations is aiming to restart after a"political initiative" this month. Syria’s UN envoy Staffan de Mistura censured the Syriangovernment’s "strategy" of forcing inhabitants of Daraya – arebel-held town near Damascus that endured a four-year siege -and warned other towns were likely to experience the samefate. De Mistura said there were "indications that after Darayawe may have other Darayas," adding that "there is clearly astrategy at the moment to move from Daraya" to other besiegedareas "in a similar pattern". Hundreds of fighters and their families were bused out ofDaraya last week, with other civilians transferred togovernment territory near Damascus for resettlement. The Syrian army has said it is in complete control of thetown, from where roughly 8,000 civilians were still due to beevacuated. De Mistura pointed to worrying signs around thesurrounded towns of Waer and Moadamiyat al-Sham, whoseresidents make up some of the 590,000 people that the UN sayslives under siege in Syria – mostly by government forces. The Observatory said today that the rebel alliance inHama seized control of 14 populated areas, mainly in the northof the province, including the towns of Halfaya and Suran. The alliance also took a military base near the Maardesarea, seizing artillery shells and rockets. They were also threatening the historic Christian town ofMahrada to the west, which is home to one of the country’slargest power stations. (AFP)PRG