The regime forces and their allies hold their control on Abu Al-Duhur Military Airbase as well as villages in its vicinity and attack a town west of the airbase and advance into villages within the besieged pocket

Idlib Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime forces are continuing to sweep Abu Al-Duhur Military Airbase and the surrounding villages, in conjunction with holding their control over points in the area in order to strengthen their presence and fortify the points of protecting the airbase against future counter attacks expected to be carried out by groups of the factions, while violent clashes are taking place between the regime forces backed by armed militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against the rebel factions and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham as well as factions supporting it, in areas in Abu Al-Duhur town and its outskirts, located to the west of Abu Al-Duhur Military Airbase, in an attempt by the regime forces to impose their control on the town and secure the airbase larger, through controlling this town which is the most important town in the eastern countryside of Idlib.

This sweeping, holding control and the advancement towards Abu Al-Duhur town is accompanied by advancement by the regime forces in the fronts adjacent this front, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored during the past few hours that the regime forces managed to advance into a number of villages used to be controlled by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in the adjacent countryside of the south of Aleppo, the north-east of Hama, the east and the south-east of Idlib, within the besieged pocket which adjacent the controlled areas of the organization which is also besieged, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented more human losses in the ranks of the both parties to be added to hundreds of the fighters who were killed, injured and captured, in which it has increased to 365 at least, the number of members of the regime forces and the factions, who have been killed since Wednesday evening, the 10th of January 2018, where it rose to 149, the number of members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen, including 17 officers and 3 of them are Brigadier Generals, and one of them is close to Suhail Al-Hassan, also it rose to at least 216 fighters of the factions, including 10 commanders at least, the number of fighters who were killed in the same clashes. The death toll is expected to increase due to the presence of injured persons in serious conditions, and the factions managed to capture 35 members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen, in addition to tens of members of Turkestan Islamic Movement, who were also killed in the latest battles.

And the Syrian Observatory published last night that it  monitored Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, the rebel and Islamic factions, and the Islamic Turkestani Party, carry out a counteroffensive on Abu Al-Duhur Airbase from its western areas, where violent clashes are taking place between them against the regime forces supported by their allies of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, where the attacking factions seek to expel the regime forces and their allies out of Abu Al-Duhur Airbase -which was controlled by the regime forces hours ago-, amid preliminary information that the factions were  able to advance in the airport. The clashes were accompanied by the continuation of raids and barrel bombs by warplanes and helicopters, as well as the exchange of shelling by tens of shells between both parties, and confirmed information about more casualties between them, and it is noteworthy that the Syrian Observatory published on Saturday the 20th of January 2018, that the regime forces managed to impose their control over Abu Al-Duhur Military Airbase almost completely, after violent fighting and continuous attack since this morning on the area, where the SOHR monitored that the regime forces managed to impose their control over several areas surrounding the airbase in its southern, northern and eastern sides, through wrapping around it and advance from the southern countryside of Aleppo towards the eastern countryside of Idlib, and the SOHR also learned that the violent clashes are still continuing are still continuing between the both parties in areas in the west of Abu Al-Duhur Military Airbase, in the area between the airbase and Abu Al-Duhur town which is one of the main towns in the eastern countryside of Idlib, while the clashes are accompanied by exchange of targeting and shelling between the both parties, coincided with starting the regime forces to sweep the airbase which the regime forces lost their control over on the 1st third of September 2015, following a sudden attack by Hayaat Tahir Al-Sham and the factions in the area, making use of the bad weather and sand storm that hit the province of Idlib at that time, where the regime forces lost their last positions in the province of Idlib, and at that time they only controlled the towns of Kafria and Foua, which are mostly inhabited by Shiite people, and controlled by the National Defense Forces and Popular Committees. It is noteworthy that Abu Dhuhur has been besieged for more than 2 years by Nusra Front and the Islamic factions until they controlled it in 2015, and the air base was out of services and the regime forces stationed there and the warplanes were not able to implement any military operation out of it.