DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — The Syrian Army's general command requested militants to leave southern suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus over the course of two weeks, local media reported Friday.
The requirement primarily concerns the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (also known as the Nusra Front) militants, whose main outposts are on the territory of the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus, according to the Al-Watan newspaper.
Syria's civil war has been raging for over five years, with armed opposition and terrorist groups, including Jabhat Fatah al Sham and the Daesh, both outlawed in many countries, including Russia, fighting against government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. Violence around the capital started in 2012, when rebels infiltrated the capital's suburbs from the surrounding countryside.