Citing “visiting holy shrines” as an excuse | IRGC and Hez*bollah members and commanders arrive in Damascus

SOHR activists in Damascus have reported seeing Iranian-backed militias and regime security service on high alert. This coincides with the arrival of a large number of members and commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, “Al-Quds Corps” and the Lebanese Hezbollah in Syria’s capital. The recently-arrived members and commanders have come to Damascus under the pretext of “visiting the holy shrines, mainly Sett Ruqayyah shrine near the Umayyad Mosque.”

SOHR sources have confirmed that those militiamen have been stationed in positions of the Lebanese Hezbollah and IRGC in the south of Damascus, after having visited the shrines.

Yesterday, SOHR sources reported that groups of the Iranian militias and Lebanese Hezbollah were deployed on all the roads in wide areas of the Syrian desert from south eastern of Aleppo all the way to south western of Al-Raqqa, while regime forces and their proxies are present in some positions inside cities and villages of the mentioned areas.

The number of checkpoints deployed on the roads reached 28 security checkpoints, with some of them fixed and the others are makeshift (mobile), where 40 members fully equipped with anti-tank weapons, RPG launchers, 4×4 vehicles and motorbikes are present inside these checkpoints.

The militias raise their flags with the flag of the Lebanese Hezbollah, starting from the junction of Athriah in Hama desert and Al-Khafsa area all the way to western Al-Raqqa countryside and western Manbij countryside.

The militias are present in two oil fields near Sifyan and Al-Thawra oil fields, with mining operations for oil by Iranian militias.