The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Violent fighting and fierce clashes at the hometown of the Defense Minister in Al-Assad’s regime…more that 350 air strikes…and more than 75 were killed and tens were injured

Hama Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: violent clash…continuous fighting, intensive shelling, successive air strikes, and different area, since the operations started there, in which the north-eastern countryside of Hama has been witnessing continuous land clashes for the fifth consecutive day, while the air operations completed their first week, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been monitoring the bombardment since the 22nd of October 2017, the date of starting the warplanes and helicopters to prepare by firearm for the ground forces, in which the past seven consecutive days, between the 22nd of October 2017 and 28th of October 2017, witnessed violent and successive air strikes, with varying pace of escalation and intensity, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented more than 350 air strikes on the north-eastern countryside of Hama, which caused great material damage to the infrastructure and to the property of the citizens, in which the strikes hit the villages of Al-Rahjan, Al-Shatib, Arafa, Tell Khanzir, al-Shakuziyyeh, Qasr Ibn Wardan, Jib Al-Sokkar, Abu Dali, Al-Dafriyyah, Qasr Shawy, Al-Khalidiya, Rabda, Eib Al-Khaznah, Mweileh, Hawayiz, Al-Rweideh, Al-Hamdania, Haymaniyah, Zughayr and other residential communities and position controlled by Tahrir Al-Sham.

These strikes prepared for the fighting and accompanied the violent clashes, which started on the 24th of October 2017, which mainly concentrated around Al-Rahjan village which is the hometown of the Defense Minister in Al-Assad’s regime the Major General Fahd Jassem al-Freij, which became out of control of the regime forces in the middle of July 2014, in which Nusra Front (Al Qaeda in the Levant) took the control of it then, after continuous and violent attack targeted the village which is located in the north-eastern countryside of Hama, as the regime forces are trying to regain the control of the village, by carrying out successive attacks enabled them during the past few days to take the control of villages and residential communities, after violent fighting took place between them and their loyal gunmen against Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, while they managed to take the control of other residential communities and farms after the “Islamic State” organization withdrew from them, in which the regime forces managed at the beginning of their attack, to advance into the controlled areas of the organization in this countryside, after a series of tens of successive strikes which targeted the areas which used to be controlled by the organization recently after it crossed from Wadi Al-Azeeb through the controlled areas of the organization, and carrying out a violent attack that targeted the Syria forces.

The continuation of fighting in the hometown of the Defense of the regime and the surroundings villages and residential communities, and the clashes of hit-and-run between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, and the accompanied shelling as well as the explosions and targeting, caused more human losses in the ranks of the both parties, in which the number of casualties of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, has increased to 46 members including several commanders, while more than 29 members of the regime forces and the gunmen loyal to them, were killed, in the same clashes and the shelling accompanied them, while the fierce fighting resulted in the fall of injuries in the ranks of the both parties with varying degrees of severity.