BEIRUT (Sputnik) — The army loyal to the Syrian government has reclaimed a vital spring in the Wadi Barada valley that supplies water to Damascus, a source familiar with the matter told RIA Novosti on Friday.
13 January 2017, 10:40 GMT
The Syrian capital gets most of the water from springs in the Wadi Barada valley. Water supplies were drastically reduced in late December.
"The Syrian army has freed the Bassemeh village in the Wadi Barada valley and has returned control of the Ein Al Fejeh spring that supplies the capital of Damascus and its suburbs," the source said.
According to the source, Syrian bomb squads were combing the area to defuse landmines that retreating Islamists had left behind. He said militants from the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, banned in Russia and formerly known as Nusra Front, had damaged all water pumps.
