Air strikes return to Syria's Ghouta killing 32 as talks sputter
AFP / Nazeer al-KhatibBuses carrying families of fighters from former rebel bastion Eastern Ghouta arrive at a checkpoint in northern Syria on April 5, 2018
Deadly air strikes slammed into the last opposition-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta on Friday, killing 32 civilians in the first bombardment since talks sputtered over a rebel withdrawal.
Backed by Russia, Syrian troops had captured nearly all of the one-time opposition stronghold of Ghouta with a combination of ferocious bombing raids and negotiated withdrawals.
All that remained was its largest town of Douma, held by the Jaish al-Islam Islamist faction and home to tens of thousands of people.
Moscow announced a deal with Jaish al-Islam last Sunday, ushering in three consecutive days of evacuations from Douma that saw nearly 3,000 fighters and civilians bussed to northern Syria.
But the evacuations stalled this week amid reports Jaish al-Islam remained divided over a withdrawal, and heavy bombing hit Douma on Friday afternoon for the first time in around 10 days.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of air strikes hit various parts of Douma, including some suspected to have been carried out by Russian warplanes.
AFP/File / HAMZA AL-AJWEHSyrians walk past destroyed buildings in Douma in Eastern Ghouta on March 25, 2018
"At least 32 civilians died, including seven children," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, adding that around 50 people were wounded.
A medic inside Douma described to AFP a state of chaos at the local hospital as wounded and dead were being brought in.
"The hospital is in a state of panic," the medic said.
"Dentists are carrying out emergency surgeries. Dead bodies are being brought in pieces and are unrecognisable."
State news agency SANA said Syrian air strikes hit the town on Friday in response to deadly rebel mortar fire from Douma.
It said mortar shells hit several suburbs of the capital and killed at least one person and wounded more than a dozen.
The regime and its ally Russia launched a blistering air and ground offensive on Eastern Ghouta in mid-February, killing more than 1,600 civilians and causing an international outcry.
The enclave on the eastern edge of Damascus had escaped government control since 2012 and, although it had shrunk over the years, it still covered sizeable territory two months ago.
The daily air raids kept residents cowering in basements for weeks and a ground assault soon sliced the area into three isolated pockets, each held by different rebel factions.
- Deal dead? -
The first two were evacuated under Russian-brokered deals last month that saw more than 46,000 rebels and civilians bussed to the northwestern province of Idlib, which the regime does not control.
Tens of thousands of people also fled through humanitarian corridors opened by Russia and Syrian troops.
Some have already returned to their devastated neighbourhoods, while others are staying in crowded shelters.
As talks over the third and final pocket of Douma dragged on, Russia and Syria's regime threatened Jaish al-Islam with a renewed military assault if they did not agree to withdraw.
Those still trapped in Douma had been nervous that any attempt to renege on an evacuation would only prompt Russia and regime warplanes to resume deadly strikes.
The nature of the ongoing discussions over Douma is unclear and Jaish al-Islam itself has not stated its position since this week's first evacuation.
"It's very tense and there's a lot of confusion. We don't know where we're going, and rumours are flying in the town," said a resident reached by phone who gave his name as Mohammed.
"Waiting for the unknown, with rumours as your only source of information, is worse than the bombardment," said the young man, hours before Friday's fresh strikes.
Jaish al-Islam had been angling for a reconciliation deal that would allow them to stay in Douma as a police force.
The group appears to have little leverage, however, to face the regime's recovered might, and the latest strikes raised fears of a brutal end to the five-year-old siege of Eastern Ghouta.
"These air strikes are paving the way for a ground operation. Forces are already amassing and there is massive pressure on Jaish al-Islam," said Nawar Oliver, an analyst at the Omran Institute.
"The negotiations failed and the regime wants its conditions -- the air strikes are a taste of what could happen if its conditions are not implemented," he said.
Tiger back in Masters hunt as Augusta National rips leaders
Getty/AFP/File / SAM GREENWOODTiger Woods looks on during the final round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 11, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida
Tiger Woods began Friday's second round of the Masters with a bogey at Augusta National, which proved formidable in windy conditions as elite golfers struggled and humbled leaders packed together.
Woods, a four-time Masters champion, has been the star attraction in his return to major competition following spinal fusion and two top-five showings in tuneup events.
An opening 73 left him seven adrift, but adoring fans cheered him and stood 10 deep to catch a glimpse of the 14-time major champion, new crowds enjoying a "Tigermania" opportunity some thought might never come again.
While his last major title came at the 2008 US Open, early struggles for the leaders ensured his chance to contend as his second round began and fans dreamed he might this week close the gap on the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.
Woods saw his approach roll off the first green and his chip barely held the putting surface. He then missed an 18-foot par putt and fell to 2-over for the tournament, five off the pace.
Augusta National had become a crucible for contenders in round two, no one able to pull away on a crowded leaderboard.
As Woods teed off, six players shared the lead at 3-under, including Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and American Matt Kuchar and four players yet to launch their second rounds -- Sweden's Henrik Stenson, Canada's Adam Hadwin and Americans Patrick Reed and Charley Hoffman.
One stroke adrift were Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler -- who had faced Augusta's fury -- plus past Masters winner Zach Johnson of the United States and Australian Marc Leishman.
Even some past champions were humbled, three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson triple-bogeying the ninth to stand 1-over at the turn and past champ Fred Couples making triple bogey at 11 and on 1-over after 14.
Wiesberger, who opened with a 70, birdied the par-5 second and par-4 third but fell back with a birdie at the par-3 fourth.
Kuchar opened on 68 but took bogey at the fifth.
Three-time major winner Spieth, who led by two after shooting 6-under par 66 Thursday, started double bogey-bogey.
Getty/AFP / JAMIE SQUIREJordan Spieth of the United States hits his second shot from the pine straw on the first hole during the second round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia
Reigning British Open champion Spieth sent his tee shot deep into the Georgia pines on both holes, didn't escape the trees on his second either time and left his third shy of the green twice, missing an 11-footer for bogey at the par-4 first and a 5-footer for par at the second.
Another bogey at seven dropped Spieth two off the pace.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy, who can complete a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, opened with a three-putt bogey and added two birdies and two bogeys in the next five holes.
American Tony Finau, the first US PGA player of Tongan and Samoan descent, took bogeys at the first, sixth and 11th holes to stumble back to 1-under after an opening 68. He suffered a partial left ankle dislocation Wednesday when he landed awkwardly while celebrating an ace in the Masters Par-3 Contest.
China's Li Haotong, who shot 69 in his Masters debut, was six-over on Friday's front nine.
- Spieth, McIlroy meltdowns -
Both McIlroy and Spieth have suffered notable Masters meltdowns with a green jacket seemingly in their grasp, Spieth in 2016 when leading by five shots with nine holes remaining only to endure an Amen Corner horror show and squander the title won by England's Danny Willett.
McIlroy, 28, saw his 2011 hopes of a wire-to-wire win vanish with a final-round 80. McIlroy went on to win his first major on his next try at the 2011 US Open.
Spieth's wire-to-wire victory in 2015 marked the only time since 1984 that a first-round Masters solo leader took the green jacket.
- Garcia could miss cut -
Spain's Sergio Garcia, among the late starters, will likely miss the cut to the low 50 and ties plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead after an opening 81, the worst-ever round for a Masters defending champion.
Garcia plunked five balls in the water in shooting a 13 at the par-5 15th, the worst score ever on the hole and level with the worst on any hole in Masters history.
Garcia would be only the 10th defending champion to miss the Masters cut, the second in a row after Willett last year.
copy https://www.afp.com/en/
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário