Syrians from rebel-held eastern Ghouta arrive at the regime-held checkpoint in Adra, on the northeastern outskirts of Damascus, after escaping the enclave through a corridor opened by the government forces on March 15, 2018. Louai Beshara / AFP
Syrians from rebel-held eastern Ghouta arrive at the regime-held checkpoint in Adra, on the northeastern outskirts of Damascus, after escaping the enclave through a corridor opened by the government fShow more

Nearly 20,000 flee Eastern Ghouta as Assad forces enter key town in rebel-held thousands flee




Nearly 20,000 civilians fled Eastern Ghouta on Thursday as Syrian government troops entered a key town in the rebel enclave near Damascus.

"Regime forces assaulted Hammuriyeh and were able to control parts of it", in the south of the enclave, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Residents – most of them women and children – fled on foot, in cars and on motorcycles via the town of Hammuriyeh, where the Syrian army had opened a corridor, reported AFP. They reached a government-held checkpoint in Adra.

According to the UK-based Observatory at least nearly 20,000 civilians fled Eastern Ghouta on Thursday. It was the first major exodus from the territory after nearly four weeks of intense bombardment by government forces and Russia and came as the Syrian civil war entered its eighth year.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said that a new convoy carrying food aid entered the rebel enclave on Thursday and was headed to Douma – the largest town in Ghouta.

Thursday's convoy of 25 trucks was carrying food parcels and flour bags for more than 26,000 people.

"This is just a little of what these families need," the ICRC said.

It was the third delivery of aid to reach Douma in 10 days. Aid deliveries, carried out jointly by the ICRC, Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the United Nations, need permission from all warring sides in Ghouta.

On February 18, forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad – backed by Russian air support – launched an assault on eastern Ghouta, which is the last opposition bastion outside the capital, Damascus.

Syrian troops have seized more than 60 per cent of Ghouta since the offensive, which split the enclave into three sections, each controlled by different rebels. The area around Hammuriyeh is controlled by the Faylaq Al Rahman faction.

More than 1,220 civilians – a fifth of them children – have been killed since the launch of the offensive.

Moscow said on Thursday that it was committed to helping the Assad government “finish off” rebels in eastern Ghouta.

Russia has provided few details of its involvement in the offensive on Ghouta but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday left no doubt Moscow's forces were taking an active part.

"We will continue fighting terrorists, we will finish them off, we will help finish them off in Eastern Ghouta, where the Syrian army is now conducting operations with our support," he said.

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Seven years of war. A tragedy for Syria. A catastrophe for the world

Syria: In Afrin offensive, some see Turkey as liberator

More than half a million killed in Syria’s war

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Meanwhile, Turkish-backed forces launched a bombardment of Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin and closed in on the main city, in an offensive that could redraw the map in northern Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's spokesman said on Thursday that Mr Cavusoglu's planned visit to Washington on March 19 has been postponed. He did not give a reason for the decision.

The announcement follows US President Donald Trump's call to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.

Turkey has been angered by Washington's support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the fight against ISIL. Turkey sees the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

On Thursday, Ankara said it would flush out the Kurdish militia from the centre of Afrin “in a very short time”, as pro-Turkey forces surrounded the city.

"The circle is closing in around the terrorists. We anticipate that the centre of Afrin will be cleared of terrorists in a very short time, God willing in the coming days," Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said.

Kalin told state broadcaster TRT in an interview that the offensive, dubbed operation Olive Branch, had secured 70 per cent of the territory of Afrin district.

International efforts have consistently failed to stop the seven-year war in Syria, with more than 500,000 people killed since the conflict first erupted, and more than half of Syria's pre-war population of 20 million displaced.

Company%20Profile
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The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Business Insights
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

if you go

The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to ­Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/

MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

MATCH INFO

Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')

Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')

ESSENTIALS

The flights 

Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes. 

Where to stay 

The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed