The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

The continuous violent escalation gets more hospitals and service centers out of service in Daraa and more casualties raise the death toll to more than 120

Daraa Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the countryside of Daraa is witnessing the continuation of military operations and the escalation of aerial and ground shelling by the regime and the Russians, where Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored since the midnight of yesterday until now violent bombardment by warplanes, on areas in the towns of al-Jiza, Eastern al-Gharya, and al-Msifra, also regime’s helicopters dropped several barrel bombs on areas in al-Hrak town and other areas in Daraa al-Balad in Daraa city, accompanied by the fall of several missiles believed to be ground-to-ground launched by the regime forces on the same areas in the city, in conjunction with the targeting by warplanes believed to be Russian for areas in Sayda town in the eastern countryside of Daraa, and the Syrian Observatory’s intersected sources confirmed that the shelling in the last 24 hours have caused two hospitals to get out of service, as a result of the shelling that targeted their area, raising to 4, the number of hospitals that went out of service since the 19th of this month in the towns of al-Hrak, Bosr al-Harir, al-Msifra, and Sayda, in addition to 2 centers of the Civil Defense in Bosr al-Harir and al-Msikah.

These intense strikes were accompanied by the continuation of clashes at a varying pace of violence, between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian nationalities against the rebel and Islamic factions, in the vicinity of the Air Defense base southwest of Daraa, coincided with the targeting by the factions for positions of the regime forces in the al-Fakhtha checkpoint in the same countryside, amid shelling by the regime forces on locations of the factions, which caused more casualties in the ranks of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and in the ranks of the factions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the rise of number of people who were killed yesterday to 14 civilian casualties, including 2 children and one woman; as a result of bombardment by warplanes on areas in the towns and cities of Nawa, Abtaa, al-Sora, and Adwan in the eastern, northern and northwestern countryside of Daraa, the shelling also wounded a large number of people, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation, raising to 46 citizens at least including a woman and her son, in addition to 7 women and 2 child girls, as well as 2 members of the civil defense, the number of citizens whose death has been documented by the SOHR as a result of the aerial, artillery and rocket shelling by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them on several villages and towns in Daraa countryside, since the 19th of June 2018, the SOHR also documented the death of 36 members at least of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them including officers who were killed in the shelling and clashes during the same period, in Daraa countryside, while it rose to at least 39, the number of  fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions whose death was documented by the Syrian Observatory in the aerial and ground shelling and violent clashes, and information about more human losses in the ranks of the both parties, as a result of the presence of injured cases in serious conditions and there is information about missing persons whose destiny is not known until now.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published last night that it monitored the decreased pace of fighting on the contact lines in Daraa city and its eastern countryside, between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against the rebel and Islamic factions, while the number of raids which targeted Daraa province today, exceeded 158 raids, along with bombardment by tens of explosive barrels, in addition to shelling by tens of shells and missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, which caused further material damage to the property of the citizens, and the Syrian Observatory monitored during the past few hours, that the clashes were concentrated in the vicinity of the airbase which is located in the south of Daraa city, in an attempt by the regime forces to reach the Jordanian border and separate between the factions’ controlled areas in the Eastern countryside of Daraa and its western countryside, after they managed today morning, Tuesday, to separate Al-Lajat area and its vicinity from the rest areas controlled by the factions through taking the control of Bosr Al-Harir and Maliha Al-Atash towns, and the clashes were coincided with intensive exchange of targeting, amid renewed bombardment by warplanes on Al-Musayfirah, Al-Karak Al-Sharqi and other areas in the eastern countryside of Daraa, which caused further material damage and destruction of the infrastructure.

The Syrian Observatory published yesterday morning, that the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them were able in the evening to control the strategic towns of Bosr al-Harir and Mlehat al-Atash in the eastern countryside of Daraa, where this control enabled them to connect Izra’a city with al-Suwaidaa Province, in addition to isolating the northeastern countryside of Daraa, but it is not known until the moment whether the areas north of Bosr al-Harir still have faction fighters. This control operation came with intense cover of fire during the last few days of hundreds of airstrikes by Russian warplanes and helicopters, in addition to the violent and heavy missile shelling using hundreds of missiles and shells, and the regime forces on Monday were able to achieve more advancement within al-Lajat area and expanded their control to 7 villages, where the regime forces seek to control the entire area located in the northeastern countryside of Daraa.