Syrian troops move into schools, Russia sends military recon ship to eastern Mediterranean

[mota bhai 2,675]

Residents said troops had moved into schools and universities, which officials calculate are unlikely to be hit Syrian commanders were continuing to redeploy forces away from sensitive sites on Monday ahead of a postponed U.S. air strike that many in Damascus believe is still likely.

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Damascenes reported more checkpoints than usual in regime-held areas, but said the capital continued to function as it had during the past two years of ever more entrenched war. In rebel-held districts, where siege and deprivation have bitten deeper, locals claimed a sense of despair had descended after Mr. Obama’s speech.

“They were so close to doing something,” said Umm Latifa, the widowed head of a household of six children in east Damascus. “Anything to make [the regime] scared would have been a blessing.”

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It emerged on Monday that Russia had dispatched a military reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean, where five U.S. warships are operating in the lead-up to a widely expected air strike in Syria. The Priazovye departed for Syria on Sunday, Russia’s state news agency Itar-Tass quoted a military source as saying.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/syrian-troops-move-away-from-sensitive-sites-in-damascus/article5088900.ece