The regime forces and the Russia-armed clan forces control a town and several villages at the southern banks of Euphrates in the eastern countryside of Al-Raqqah
After more than 2 years of fully controlling Al-Raqqah, the “Islamic State” organization is desperate to stay in areas about 15 km long left for it in the south of the Euphrates
Al-Raqqah Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the clashes are still taking place between the regime forces supported by their loyal gunmen and the Russian trained-and-armed clan forces against members of the “Islamic State” organization, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the regime forces achieve a new and important advancement, where they controlled the town of Ghanim al-Ali, located on the southern banks of the Euphrates River in the eastern countryside of Al-Raqqah, also they took control of villages located west of it and located between the town of Ghanim al-Ali and the village of al-Shridah, following withdrawals the organization was forced to carry out before being besieged by the regime forces supported by their loyal gunmen and the clan forces, and the organization has only about 15 km of area starting from the town of Ghanim al-Ali until the western administrative border of Deir Ezzor province with the eastern administrative border of Al-Raqqah Province, which contains several villages and Madan city, the last city controlled by the organization in the Al-Raqqah province.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime forces who had taken control of the town and several villages west of it, have started the sweeping process to make sure it is free of members of the “Islamic State” organization, while they continue their operations to end the existence of organization in the remaining areas of Al-Raqqah province, which in the middle of 2015 was fully under its control, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on Saturday the 29th of July 2017 that the “Islamic State” organization completed the first month of the fourth year of the declaration of its “Caliphate State”, since the 29th of June 2017 until the 29th of July 2017, ISIS finished this month with a decrease in the bloodshed of the Syrian people, and some of the causes of this decrease were its successive defeats by its opponents who share contact lines with it, from the regime forces supported by the gunmen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian parties, and the Syria Democratic forces supported by the US Special Forces.
The “Islamic State” organization which used to control more than 45500 square kilometers of the Syrian territory with a percentage of 24.60% of its geographical area, has lost 5947 square kilometers in the 1st month of the 4th year of its “Caliphate”, with a percentage of 13.1% of the geographical area of the Syrian territory, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the loss of organization for 312 square kilometers with a percentage of 0.7% of the total of what it has lost this month to the Syria Democratic forces, which are supported by the International Coalition, it has lost 5635 square kilometers with a percentage of 12.4% for the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, out of its total loss this month.
The Syrian Observatory also published on the 27th of July 2017 that it monitored that the regime forces were able to enter the western administrative border of Deir Ezzor province, which is the first time the regime forces enter Deir Ezzor province from Al-Raqqah province; after about two months from entering the southeastern countryside of the province coming from the far east of Homs Desert.
This advancement for the regime forces didn’t leave for the “Islamic State” organization from the countryside of Al-Raqqah except several villages and towns located on the southern banks of the Euphrates River, almost 36 km long from the village of Shridah in the west until the western administrative border of Deir Ezzor in the east, composed of one city controlled by the organization, Madan city, in addition to several villages such as Ghanim al-Ali, Zor Shammar, al-Shridah, al-Khamisiyyeh, al-Jaber and other villages and areas on the southern bank of the river in the eastern countryside of Al-Raqqah, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the warplanes escalating their raids on these areas, amid displacement in the area. Local sources confirmed that the displaced are forced to displace from one area to another, until reaching areas that are safe from warplanes’ targeting, or until reaching areas controlled by the Syria Democratic Forces.