Tue Nov 26, 2013 11:17:50
A report says the Syria army has been prepared to retake the control of the Christian town of Deir Attiyeh in north of the capital Damascus.
Al-Watan newspaper said on Monday that the army was deploying troops in the majority Christian town "in preparation to take it back" from the hands of foreign-backed militants.
Located in the strategic area of Qalamoun along Lebanon's border, Deir Attiyeh was taken over last week by al-Qaeda-linked militants, it says.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
Syria crisis started as pro-reform protests but with interventions by the United States, UK and their regional and western allies it soon turned to a massive insurgency which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and the Middle East to wage one of the bloodiest wars the region in the recent history.
According to the United Nations, over 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.
BA/BA
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