Syria Army Controls Damascus-Deir Ez-Zor Highway

Troops moving in from the west linked up with forces already in Deir ez-Zor at the entrance to the city, bringing the whole road under their control for the first time in years, it said, Reuters reported.

The Syrian army and its allies, this week broke a three-year siege by the terrorists of a government-held enclave of Deir ez-Zor and an adjacent air base.

The rapid government advances, accompanied by Russian airstrikes, are squeezing Daesh in its last major Syrian stronghold.

Syrian state TV broadcast footage of Syrian officers who had been holed up in Deir ez-Zor emotionally greeting their superiors after being surrounded by Daesh since 2014.

The United Nations has estimated that some 93,000 people were living in "extremely difficult" conditions in government-held parts of Deir ez-Zor, supplied by air drops to the air base.

Some 42 trucks loaded with food, medicine and hygiene kits for tens of thousands of needy civilians entered the city Friday, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said in a statement.

The previous day, foodstuff supplied by the Syrian Trade Association was delivered to Deir ez-Zor via the road newly opened by Syria’s forces when they broke the Daesh encirclement.