Syrian army continues mop-up operations

 
Syrian soldiers enter a village near the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib governorate. (file photo)

The Syrian army continues its mop-up operations against the foreign-sponsored militants across the country.
On Saturday, a military source said that the government troops stormed the militants’ hideouts and killed scores of them in the countryside of the western province of Lattakia.

The troops also destroyed several vehicles loaded with weapons and ammunition in al-Qantara village, the source added.

The Syrian army units carried out similar operations against the militants in north-west of Yabroud in Damascus countryside.

The government troops also confiscated weapons belonging to foreign-backed Takfiri militants in the southern province of Daraa.

The Syrian troops also inflicted losses on the militants in the western province of Homs.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.

The UN also says more than four million other Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country.

Two million Syrians are expected to take refuge outside the country while another 2.25 million are predicted to be internally displaced during the next year.

Moreover, a recent report commissioned by UN agencies says the devastating conflict in Syria has left over half of the country's population in poverty.

The report put the unemployment rate at 48.6 percent, saying 49 percent of Syria’s children were out of school as education "is in the midst of a silent disaster."

It also warned that the health sector faces a "significant collapse."