The regime’s helicopters and warplanes shell the besieged countryside of southwest of the capital within the large-scale preparations of military operation in the area

Rif Dimashq province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:: the southwestern Rif Dimashq witnesses shelling by the regime forces and their helicopters, where the SOHR monitored the regime’s warplanes dropping barrel bombs on areas in the outskirts of Beit Jenn Farm and other areas in its vicinity, in conjunction with airstrikes by warplanes on areas in the nearby village of Maghar Al-Meer, within the besieged circle controlled by the factions near the Syrian – Lebanese border in the far southwestern Rif Dimashq on the border with the countryside of Al-Qunietra.

the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received information from intersected sources that the regime forces are making military preparations to carry out a massive attack on the besieged southwest of Rif Dimashq, in order to control the areas that are controlled by the factions in Beit Jen area  and the villages and towns of Beit Saber, Kafr Hor, Beit Tima, Maghr al-Mir and their countryside, which are also the last border areas with Lebanon that are not controlled by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, and the preparations came after an attack took place on the 3rd of November  2017, started by detonating a booby trapped vehicle in Hodr town, followed by a violent attack by the factions during which they managed to connect their controlled areas in southwest of Rif Dimashq with their controlled areas in the northern countryside of Quneitra, then after hours the regime forces broke that corridor and re-besieged the southwest of Rif Dimashq, where the violent clashes, the bombings and the accompanying shelling have killed at least 20 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, and also killed 11 fighters including 3 leaders and a member of Tunisian nationality, in addition to the injury of tens of civilians, fighters and members.

The sources also confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that this operation is led by a prominent officer in the ranks of the regime forces, who had a major role in the operations of re-controlling the neighborhoods east of the capital Damascus, and in the operations east of Damascus and in the Eastern Ghouta and other operations in Rif Dimashq, also areas in outskirts of Beit Jen town in the southwest of Rif Dimashq were shelled on today by the regime forces which caused material damage, but no information about casualties, where this is considered the first shelling by the regime forces on the besieged southwest of Rif Dimashq, after about 48 hours of the violent clashes that took place as a result of a violent attack by the factions in the area.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored regime’s helicopters dropping about 450 barrel bombs and hundreds of rocket and artillery shells targeting this area, since the 26th of September 2017 until today the 5th of November 2017, and the Syrian Observatory learned that the regime forces are trying through this intense shelling to prepare for a military operation to end the presence of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and the rebel and Islamic factions in the rest of the Syrian-Lebanese border, and if they regain control of this area (which is about 150 square kilometers and includes the villages and towns of Beit Jenn, Beit Saber, Beit Tima, Kafr Hor, and other farms and residential gatherings), then they will have regained the entire west, southwest, north and northwest of Rif Dimashq, where there are still an area of about 8 km for fighters of the factions and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham on the Syrian – Lebanese border, including about 5.5 km along the border with Shebaa Farms, and the shelling was accompanied by several attacks by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them; during which they managed to regain control of a hill and sites were controlled by the factions and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham. During these clashes tens of fighters and members of both parties were killed, this process also comes as a continuation for the operations of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities and Hezbollah, witnessed by Al-Qalamoun during the past months, the latest of which was against Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and its allied Islamic factions, and also against the “Islamic State” organization in the western Qalamoun in the northwest of Rif Dimashq, which ended with displacements for thousands of civilians and members of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, the factions and the “Islamic State” organization to the Syrian north and Deir Ezzor Province.