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Executive Summary for November 20th

We review key events in Syria, including the government saying it has retaken the last ISIS stronghold in the country, shelling and car bomb attacks killing more than 40 people and Russia blocking the extension of a chemical weapons probe for the third time this month.

Published on Nov. 20, 2017 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Syrian Government Says It Recaptured Last ISIS Stronghold in Syria

The Syrian government said it captured the so-called Islamic State’s last stronghold in Syria on Sunday for the second time this month, Agence France-Presse reported.

Citing an unidentified military source, AFP said that the pro-government forces are now sweeping the town of Boukamal in Deir Ezzor province for landmines and explosives after driving militants from the area.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency also reported the advance, saying that pro-government forces have eliminated the last ISIS pocket in the town, which is located near the Iraqi border.

Militants have reportedly withdrawn from the town toward the Euphrates river, AFP said, citing the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). There are no clashes inside Boukamal, but some fighting is still ongoing around the town, the SOHR said.

According to the monitoring group, at least 50 ISIS militants and some 31 pro-government fighters were killed in three days of clashes over control of the area.

The Syrian government had declared victory over ISIS in Boukamal on November 9, but an ISIS counterattack saw militants regain control of the town.

Scores Killed in Airstrikes and Suicide Attacks Across Syria

At least 45 civilians were killed in separate attacks by ISIS and the Syrian government in different parts of Syria on Friday, AFP reported.

At least 19 civilians, including six children, were killed in government shelling on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of the capital, AFP said, citing the SOHR.

Friday’s attack brings the number of those killed around the capital to around 52 civilians since last Tuesday, the SOHR said.

The besieged rebel enclave has seen increased attacks by the government since the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group launched an attack on a government-held military base in the town of Harasta last week.

Meanwhile, a car bombing claimed by ISIS killed at least 26 displaced civilians, including 12 children, in Deir Ezzor province, AFP said, also citing the SOHR.

The attack targeted a gathering at a checkpoint manned by the United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. According to the SOHR, many of the displaced civilians killed in Friday’s attack were en route to camps in neighboring Hassakeh province.

The car bombing comes at a time when ISIS has lost most of its territory in eastern Syria to government forces and the SDF.

Chemical Weapon Probe to End After Russian Veto

An investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria ended on Friday after Russia vetoed the extension of its mandate for the third time in one month, Reuters reported.

The investigation by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) – was set up by Russia and the U.S. in 2015 to identify the source of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Its mandate is now due to end after Russia on Friday blocked a Japanese-drafted security council resolution that would have extended the JIM’s mandate by one month. On Thursday, Russia also blocked a U.S.-drafted resolution that would have extended the mandate by one year. Moscow also blocked another U.S.-drafted resolution on October 24.

According to Reuters, the security council has now “moved to closed-door discussions at the request of Sweden’s U.N. ambassador Olof Skoog … to try and renew the investigation.”

However, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. told the council on Friday that the JIM could only be extended if “fundamental flaws in its work” were fixed. He accused investigators of using the JIM to rubber-stamp “baseless accusations against Syria.”

The JIM has accused the Syrian government of a number of chemical weapons attacks, including a sarin gas attack that targeted the town of Khan Sheikhoun last April.

Following Friday’s vote, the U.S. accused Russia of defeating efforts “to secure accountability for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.”

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