Syrian regime troops enter ISIS-held Palmyra

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 24 March 2016

Syrian government forces on Thursday entered the historic city of Palmyra, which has been held by ISIS since May.

Troops reached the “heart” of Palmyra, the state-run Ikhbariya news channel reported, broadcasting images from just outside the historic city which has been held by ISIS since May last year.

Earlier, ISIS militants called on the 15,000 or so civilians still living in Palmyra to leave the famed ancient city on Thursday.

“IS called on loudspeakers on civilians still in Palmyra to leave as fighting reached the outskirts of the city,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, using another acronym for the militants.

Recapturing the town, a UNESCO world heritage site, would be a significant victory for the army and its Russian allies. Russia withdrew most of its forces and aircraft from Syria last week after a months-long bombing campaign that succeeded in turning the tide of the war again in President Bashar Assad's favor.

From the nearby city of Homs, Gov. Talal Barazi told The Associated Press that the Syrian army has determined three directions to storm Palmyra and was now clearing all roads leading into the town of mines and explosives.

“We might witness in the next 48 hours an overwhelming victory in Palmyra,” he said over the phone, adding that “the army is advancing in a precise and organized way to protect what is possible of monuments and archaeological sites.”

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hat Syrian troops and Shiite militiamen helping them on the ground were facing tough resistance from IS extremists as they try to penetrate the town's limits.

The group, which monitors the Syrian conflict through a network of activists on the ground, said the IS lost over 200 militants since the government campaign to retake Palmyra began 17 days ago. The Observatory did not have figures for government losses.

Palmyra attracted tens of thousands of tourists to Syria every year and is affectionately known by Syrians as the “bride of the desert.”

In Palmyra, ISIS destroyed many of the town's Roman-era relics, including the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the iconic Arch of Triumph, and also killed dozens of captive Syrian soldiers and dissidents from IS in public slayings at the town's grand roman theater and other ruins.

Along with blowing up priceless archaeological treasures, among the first destructions ISIS carried out in Palmyra was the demolishing of the town's infamous Tadmur prison, where thousands of Syrian government opponents had been imprisoned and tortured over the years.

The advance on Palmyra comes against the backdrop of Syrian peace talks underway in Geneva between representative of the Damascus government and the Western-backed opposition. The talks, which have been boosted by a Russia-U.S.-brokered cease-fire that has mostly held since late February, were to adjourn on Thursday - without having achieved any apparent breakthroughs.

(With the Associated Press, AFP and Reuters)