The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

The regime forces continue their battles south of Al-Taeiba and north of Al-Sukhna aiming at fully besieging ISIS

Homs Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the SOHR learned that violent clashes continue to take place since last night until now between ISIS on one hand and the regime forces and their allied militiamen, of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, on the other. Clashes are concentrated on Al-Sukhna-Al-Taieba road, in an attempt by the regime forces to advance more into the area. Clashes are accompanied by continued shelling by the regime forces and raids by warplanes on areas of clashes. This comes as part of the regime forces attempts to advance into the 10 km separating the regime forces coming from Al-Taeiba and those coming from north of Al-Sukhna. The regime forces had taken control of Al-Taieba town yesterday along with other areas south of the town.

The SOHR published yesterday, the 20th of August, that the regime forces managed to make a strategic advancement as they were able to take control of Al-Taeiba town and of hills and highlands near it. The SOHR learned that such an advancement enabled the regime forces to advance towards Al-Sukhna and to minimize the distance separating the regime forces heading towards the south of Al-Taieba and those in the north of Al-Sukhna. Only 10 kilometers are now separating the regime forces south of Al-Taeiba and those north of Al-Sukhna. If the regime forces managed during the coming hours or days from making such an advancement, they would have imposed the widest-scale siege on ISIS since the start of the regime’s battles against ISIS in early 2017. The regime forces and their allied militiamen would besiege thousands of kilometers that are still under the control of ISIS in the eastern dessert of Homs along with the area they besieged few days ago in the eastern countryside of Hama and the part linked to it in the eastern countryside of Homs, stretching over the areas of Jab Al-Jarah, Al-Shomiriyah Mountains and west of Sha’er Mountain.