search for a new route for a convoy in Syria

search for a new route for a convoy in Syria


The Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian army are looking for a new way for fighters of a pro-Syrian organization and their families heading to the stronghold of militants in eastern Syria, a senior military official said.

A convoy of 17 buses carrying about 300 lightly armed fighters and 300 civilians has been stranded in the eastern desert of Syria since Tuesday, with the US-led coalition using air strikes to prevent the convoy from entering heavily-regulated territory.

The leader said work was under way to change the course of the convoy for the second time.

Fighters on board the buses handed over their jeep across Syria's border with Lebanon on Monday as part of a truce that allowed them to join their leaders across the country.

That angered the US-led coalition, which does not want more experienced militants in its area of ​​operation, and angered Iraq, which sees them as a threat because the presumed destination of the convoy, Bu Kamal, is too close to its border.

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, and Iranian-backed factions, including Hezbollah, are fighting against a duel as it advances eastward through the desert.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of Da'ash fighters had left the convoy in an attempt to reach their own destination in Deir al-Zour.

A leader of the pro-Assad military alliance denied news reports that hundreds of militants had already arrived on land under duress there.

The coalition confirmed that it would continue to monitor the convoy and prevent any attempt to cross into the areas under Daish, but made it clear that it would not bomb directly the presence of civilians.

According to a statement issued late on Friday, the coalition asked Russia to inform the Syrian government that it would not allow the convoy to move eastward toward the Iraqi border.

The coalition said on Wednesday that its planes had cut off a road and destroyed a bridge to prevent the advance of the convoy and bombed some of the organization's leaders coming from the other side to meet the convoy.

The leader said Hezbollah and the Syrian army changed the convoy route on Thursday from a warm town in the southeastern desert to a further distance in the north, but coalition planes were bombed again near that road.

"The convoy is seen as a threat, which means not going through that road," the leader said. The commander said coalition fighters carried out mock air raids over the convoy.

The leader said, "That caused panic among the fans. The militants fear that the convoy will be shelled as soon as it enters Deir al-Zour. "


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