Clashes of Tlul al-Safa continue between the regime forces, Hezbollah, and their allies against ISIS on the first day of the third month since it erupted in late July

Rif Dimashq Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: clashes continue at violent pace in places in Tlul al-Safa area in Rif Dimashq about 50 km away of al-Tanaf base, between the “Islamic State” organization against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah and Hizb al-Tahrir al-Filastini (the Palestine Liberation Party), in constant attacks by the latter on sites of the Organization in order to end its presence and force it to surrender within its last remaining geographical spot in the desert of Rif Dimashq, and the clashes were accompanied by continuous rocket shelling and raids by warplanes, targeted the “Islamic State” organization’s-controlled areas every now and then, and information about more casualties and injuries in the ranks of parties, and the Syrian Observatory published yesterday that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored continued violent clashes between the regime forces backed by armed militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, the Lebanese Hezbollah and Jaysh Al-Tahrir Al-Filastini on one hand, against the members of the “Islamic State” organization on the other, in areas in Rif Dimashq Desert, where the clashes are concentrated in the rugged area of Tlul Al-Safa, in the administrative border with Al-Suwaidaa province, and the Syrian Observatory monitored that the regime forces managed to achieve advancement in the area, through advancing under a cover of heavy rocket and artillery shelling on the area, amid exchange of targeting in the clash areas.

The violent clashes resulted in the fall of more casualties in the ranks of the both parties, where a Staff Brigadier General who is the commander of Sa’ka Battalion in Jaysh Al-Tahrir Al-Filastini, was killed with 4 other members at least of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them, as well as the killing of at least 8 members of the organization in the clashes and exchange of shelling in Tlul Al-Safa area, as the military operations in both deserts of Rif Dimashq and Al-Suwaidaa have completed today, Tuesday the 25th of September 2018, their 2nd month, and the clashes also resulted in the fall of more wounded, raising to 288, the number of ISIS members who have been killed in the bombings, shelling and clashes since the 25th of July 2018, while it rose to at least 145, the number of members of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them who were killed in the same period, 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 was executed by ISIS after being kidnapped along with about 30 others, and a woman died when she was held by ISIS in conditions that still vague so far.

The Syrian Observatory published hours ago, that today, the 25th of September 2018, marks the day of completing the second month of attack by the “Islamic State” Organization on al-Suwaidaa Province’s desert and city, and the kidnapping of scores of civilians from the first-line populated villages aligned to the Syrian Desert, where there used to be areas controlled by the Organization back then, where the dawn of the 25th of July 2018, witnessed the deadliest and most violent attack by the “Islamic State” Organization in al-Suwaidaa province since 2011, during which members of the Organization attacked al-Suwaidaa city by 2 suicide bombers with explosive belts, in addition to a surprise attack on several villages of the first line adjacent to the Syrian desert in al-Suwaidaa, and the raids caused the killing and execution of tens of civilians and villager gunmen, who took up arms to repel the surprise attack of the Organization, where members of the Organization managed to kidnap tens of people, which changed the military and field operations in the Syrian Desert at al-Suwaidaa Province to a whole new course.

This shift to the new course has sparked resentment among people of al-Suwaidaa Province, where the about 30 abductees half of them are children, and the other half are female citizens, and what made things even worse is the stall of regime’s authorities and the Russians in the process of releasing the abductees, despite carrying out major displacements between both parties, one of which was with the “Islamic State” Organization in the south of the capital Damascus, where about 1000 of its members were transported with about 600 of their families from Yarmouk Camp south of Damascus to the Desert of al-Suwaidaa and the Syrian Desert, where the people accused the regime forces and the Russians of pushing residents of al-Suwaidaa to enroll in the ranks of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, and to participate in the clashes in other Syrian areas and using them as a fuel for a continuous war, and what raised he people’s suspicions was the arrival of videos of the kidnappers without the logo of the “Islamic State” Organization, and the fact that the videos were not published on the official IDs of the Organization on the internet, but they were received through messages on social media sites for certain people of al-Suwaidaa Province, which increased the ambiguity of the abduction issue and raised the pace of accusations against the regime and the Russians of procrastinating, despite calls by families of the kidnappers for the Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad, the Russians, and the engineer of the demographic change Kenana Hwyja, where she was one of the pillars of demographic change in Syria, also the committee which was appointed to follow up on the matter of the abductees was unable to achieve any progress, due to the absence authority granted to it by the regime so they can offer a new deal under which the kidnapped people can be handed over, against conditions imposed by the “Islamic State” organization, and the residents also accused the regime of not caring to the fate of al-Suwaidaa province and its abductees; as part of regime’s attempt to drag youths and people of the province to volunteer in its ranks.

Waiting the developments in the abductees’ file during the last 2 months; coincided with intensive military operations in the deserts of al-Suwaidaa and Rif Dimashq, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored violent clashes in some days and calm in others, between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against members of the “Islamic State” Organization, in places in al-Suwaidaa desert of which the regime forces were able to end the presence of the Organization, and the regime forces carried out sweeping operations for the area to ensure that they were free of ISIS members, of who are waiting to have the opportunity to carry out bloody attacks against the regime forces and their allies, while the clashes moved to Tlul al-Safa area in Rif Dimashq Desert on the administrative border with the countryside of al-Suwaidaa province, where the regime forces were able to achieve a wide progress in the area and clamp down on the Organization, however, the rugged nature of the area prevented the regime forces from achieving wider or faster advancement in the area and end the presence of the Organization and the file of the abductees, while the clashes and fighting were accompanied by artillery and rocket shelling by the regime forces and bombardment by warplanes on the area, which caused significant casualties in the ranks of the regime forces, their allies, ISIS members, the civilians.