Syria rebel enclave is Assad regime's weak spot

Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta near the capital is the regime's Achilles heel, and because of this it faces an almost inevitable military offensive, experts say. The battle-scarred region east of Damascus, which has been under near-daily bombardment and a crippling government siege since 2013, is strategically vital to President Bashar al-Assad. Joshua Landis, director of the Centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said the ongoing rebellion in Eastern Ghouta contrasted with the regime "presenting itself as the winner" of Syria's war elsewhere.

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