The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights denies the claims of Russia about the killing of regime’s members by drones in Latakia countryside
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the killing of 3 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and injuring 9 others; in missile targeting carried out by the factions on sites of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them in Jabal al-Turkman in the northeastern countryside of Latakia, where sources from the area denied to the Syrian Observatory what Russia has claimed, about the death of regime’s members by drone targeting, the sources confirmed that the targeting was carried out through rocket shelling carried out by the factions on positions of the regime forces in Jabal al-Turkman, while the Russian allegations in promoting the drone targeting came as a future justification for the expected attack on Idlib Province, by provoking the international public opinion.
And the Syrian Observatory published on Sunday, the 2nd of September 2018 that it monitored that the regime forces brought more military reinforcements of members, weapons, materiel and armored vehicles, to positions along the front line stretched from the northern mountains of Lattakia to Aleppo countryside passing through Sahl Al-Ghab, the northern countryside of Hama, and the south-eastern countryside of Idlib, along with more fortifications and preparations for the grand battle, where the SOHR monitored the distribution and deployment of the military reinforcements which are arriving consecutively to the contact areas, as a part of the grand battle of Idlib which the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them are being prepared for, and the SOHR published that as time passes and the regime forces’ military operation and the grand battle of Idlib approach, the unprecedented mobilization is continuing for a battle in which the majority of the military power operates on the Syrian land, is suggested to participate, after the control of the Syrian opposition decreased and after it was confined within large spaces of the northern countryside of Hama, Sahl Al-Ghab, areas in the north-west of Hama, parts of the northern mountains of Lattakia, the western countryside of Aleppo, and spaces of the southern countryside of Aleppo.
And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored in the recent weeks, that the regime forces brought massive military reinforcements, represented by bringing tens of thousands of members of the forces of their army and gunmen loyal to them, and the SOHR learned from a number of intersected sources that the regime forces have deployed more than 2000 armored vehicles on the contact lines extended from the northern mountains of Lattakia to the eastern countryside of Idlib passing through Sahl Al-Ghab, the northern countryside of Hama and the south-eastern countryside of Idlib, amid intensifying the positions and guard posts, and preparing their members for a grand battle through which they aim to advance at the expense of the factions and take the control of the largest possible area, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored the arrival of hundreds of fighters, as well, of the opposition factions which joined in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, the capital Damascus, and the provinces of Daraa and Al-Quneitra to the “reconciliation and settlements”, after the regime forces imposed their control over the factions’ areas, thus, the fighters of the opposition who fight previously against the regime forces, fight today in the side of the regime forces within the battle of Idlib, while the SOHR monitored that the regime forces are transferring more of their forces to the contact lines and fronts of clashes against the rebel and Islamic factions, Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, and the Turkestani Islamic Party starting from the northern mountains of Latakia to southern countryside of Aleppo, and the dispatch of members is mainly focused to the fronts of the southeastern countryside of Idlib with Sahl al-Ghab, while the regime forces are transferring members of the newly recruited members to calm fronts, in conjunction with transferring their members to the contact lines in preparation for the grand battle of Idlib.
And the SOHR published on the 22nd of August 2018, explosions were heard after midnight of yesterday in Jableh area in the countryside of Latakia, caused by a new attack by drones on the main military base of the Russian Forces in Syria; Hmeimim Airbase, where the Russian air defenses targeted and detonated one of the drones in the sky of the area, but no information about casualties so far, and the Syrian Observatory published few days ago that calm has been prevailing since the 13th of August 2018, the area of Jableh and the area of Hmeimim Military Airbase, which is taken by the Russian forces as their main base on the Syrian territory, after a series of attacks which targeted Hmeimim Military Airbase, which frequently witnesses attacks after calm prevails the area, and the attacks are carried out by drones, some of which are shot down, and some others survive and strike the airbase, as between the visit of one of the most prominent sponsors in Syria, the SOHR monitored separated airstrikes and the time of attacks was different between one attack to another, the most violent of which were the intensive attacks by drones which targeted the airbase in July 2018.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rrights documented 22 attacks carried out through drones, some of which were able to target Hmeimim Airbase and cause material damage and destruction in equipment, but others failed as a result of the targeting by the air defenses that are responsible for the protection and security of the Airbase, and among the total number of attacks there are 5 successive attacks in 5 consecutive days in August 2018 and at least 13 attacks targeted the Airbase during July 2018, while the early targeting was on the 6th of January 2018, also missile shelling targeted the Airbase area in late December 2017 after the visit of Putin for the area on 11th of December 2017, during which he met the Russian officers supervising the military operations in Syria, and also met the Syrian president, and attending a military parade inside the Airbase, also sources suggested that this calm in Hmeimim Airbase area is linked to the process of pushing Russia to the negotiating table, and securing a negotiable climate with better terms, even though the opposing factions did not claim responsibility of any aerial attack, despite the Russian accusations against opposition factions in Idlib and Latakia mountains, of carrying out these attack to destabilize and disperse the Russian Forces and to put them on successive alerts within the Airbase area, and within areas of presence of the Russian Forces in other areas.