Battles of recovering the abductees and end ISIS in the desert drain the regime forces and allies with more than 200 casualties of them with 116 armed villagers in 12 weeks
The battles of the regime and their allies against the “Islamic State” organization in the provinces of al-Suwaidaa and Rif Dimashq, completed its 12th consecutive week today, Tuesday, the 16th of October 2018, since it started an attack by the organization on al-Suwaidaa city and the first line of contact of the inhabited villages aligned to the desert in the northeastern countryside of al-Suwaidaa, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the battles of the Syrian Desert in al-Suwaidaa and Rif Dimashq draining the regime forces and their allies, since its outbreak on the 25th of July 2018, where the violent clashes continue between the regime forces supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah and their loyal gunmen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against members of the “Islamic State” organization in Tlul al-Safa area, which is located within the desert of Rif Dimashq on the administrative border with al-Suwaidaa desert, and also located about 50 km to the south of al-Tanf base of the International Coalition in al-Tanf area.
These battles in 12 consecutive weeks have drained the regime forces and their allies, especially when the battles were confined in Tlul al-Safa area of the rugged and complex geography of hills, valleys, and caves, which allows both parties to move more easily, and despite weeks of operations which are concentrated in Tlul al-Safa area; and the regime forces were able to advance in the area and control hills and sites in Tlul al-Safa; the human losses were greater than the progress achieved by the regime forces, and the regime forces were drained within Rif Dimashq desert adjacent to al-Suwaidaa, where it rose to at least 201, the number of members of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them who were killed in the bombings, shelling and clashes since the 25th of July 2018, including members of the Lebanese Hezbollah among them a Lebanese commander as well as officers of the regime forces with varying ranks the highest of which are Major Generals, and the clashes also resulted in the injury of hundreds others with varying severity, also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of about 142 citizens including 38 women and children, who were executed or shot by the “Islamic State” organization, in addition to the killing of 116 people, the majority of whom were of the gunmen villagers who carried the gun to repel the organization’s attack, and a 19-year-old boy and a citizen woman were executed by ISIS after being kidnapped along with 28 others, and a woman died when she was held by ISIS in conditions that still vague so far.
This continuous fighting and drain of the regime forces and its allies coincided with cautious anticipation that prevails al-Suwaidaa province, as the committees tasked with working to resolve the issue of abductees and the release of the 27 abductees by the “Islamic State” organization continue, and after negotiations for several days without any progress, the Syrian Observatory received information about a significant breakthrough in the case of abductees, where the negotiating reached a greater consensus on the release process, which was halted last time when the organization switched the names of the detainees from the records provided by regime’s authorities through the communication channels and the committees between them.
The Syrian Observatory also published on the 11th of October 2018 that cautious anticipation for the developments of the situation in the province, and in the details monitored by the Syrian Observatory: cautious anticipation prevails al-Suwaidaa as a result of the end the deadline requested by the Sheikh Abdul Wahab Abu Fakhr, the representative of the Sheikh of the Unitarian Druze Aql, to release the 18 abducted children and 9 citizen women who are detained by the “Islamic State” Organization, which ended without any developments in the file of abductees, where Abu Fakhr’s requested 48-hours limit 2 days ago to resolve the issue of abductees, but the deadline expired on Thursday, the 11th of October 2018, and the Syrian Observatory monitored tension in the area as a result of fears among the people of the developments of the situation, after al-Karama sheikhs who are working under the command of the children of the Sheikh Wahid al-Bal’ous; addressed the protesters by saying that “there is no dignity in the sit-in and if you want your kidnapped people then carry the weapon and liberate them yourselves,” also al-Karama sheikhs threatened al-Suwaidaa province and the representative of al-Aql Sheikh, after the latter demanded the protesters to break the sit-in for 48 hours to solve the kidnapped people’s issue; and if they are not released then they have the right to re-establish their sit-in at the place they want.