The commander of the Army of Islam, Zahran Alloush, issued a statement on Tuesday, February 3, declaring the capital Damascus a military zone and a theater of military operations. Alloush made an appeal to all civilians in the capital, Damascus, to move away from barracks, regime army locations and security and military centers.
Alloush explained in a statement published on his official Twitter account that the announcement is a response to what he called the "barbaric air raids" on the city of Douma, and other cities and towns in Eastern Ghouta. “As the capital is full of military barracks, security centers, artillery emplacements, rocket launchers and command headquarters, we have declared it a theater of military operations”, he said.
Alloush appealed to civilians to stay away from regime headquarters and checkpoints, and to avoid walking around during working hours in the streets of the capital, including the members of diplomatic missions and the students of schools and universities.
According to the statement, Damascus will be considered a military zone tomorrow morning until further notice. A military source in the Army of Islam told All4Syria that their goals are limited to security and military centers only, and that the military tactics of the Army of Islam do not target civilians in the capital.
The source denied any military plans to target the regime's government departments, because the employees in these departments are civilians, and the state's departments are part of the Syrian government, they are not regime's property.
Captain Islam Alloush told All4Syria that declaring Damascus a military zone came after the intensification of air raids carried out by the regime's army on residential neighborhoods in Eastern Ghouta, which amounted to eight air strikes yesterday – a move that led to the death of more than a dozen civilians, and the injury of more than 50 others, most of them children and women.
Regime aircrafts carried out violent raids on the city of Douma today, which led to the death and injury of a number of civilians and the destruction of a number of houses.
Captain Islam added: "we warn the civilians in Damascus to stay away from regime centers because we care about their lives, which separates us from the criminal regime.”
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
