The regime forces intensify their shelling after tearing the southwestern Rif Dimashq apart and aim to end the presence of the factions there
Rif Dimashq Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the southwestern Rif Dimashq is witnessing the continuation of the military operations of the regime forces which are trying to achieve new advancement in the area, in which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored since this morning the 20th of December 2017, that the regime forces fired tens of missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, and artillery and rocket shells, on areas in Mughr al-Mir and the farm and the town of Beit Jinn, in conjunction with violent clashes between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and the rebel and Islamic factions, in an attempt by the regime forces to advance after imposing control by firearm and tearing apart the besieged circle of the southwestern Rif Dimashq, near the Syrian – Lebanese border and near the border with the occupied Syrian Golan.
And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored on Tuesday, that the regime forces were able within the past 48 hours to reach an area near the outskirts of Mughr al-Mir located in the besieged circle remaining for factions and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in the southwest of Rif Dimashq, and also being able to control several hills over the last week and approaching Beit Jinn Farm, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored on Tuesday the 19th of December 2017 the regime forces carrying out a firearm-dividing for the remaining areas under the control of the factions southwest of Rif Dimashq, by firearm-monitoring all the supply and movement routes between Mughr al-Mir and Beit Jinn Farm and Beit Jinn town, which will make difficult for the faction fighters and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham to move within the remaining besieged circle, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published days ago that the regime forces are trying through this attack to dismember what is remain under the control of the factions southwest of Rif Dimashq and separate between them, in order to force them to bow to a “reconciliation” or an agreement that ends the presence of the factions and enables the regime forces from imposing their control over them, to end the presence of the factions in the area completely near the Syrian-Lebanese border and near the occupied Syrian Golan.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored an intensive shelling by hundreds of shells over the past 72 hours, where the regime forces targeted by artillery, mortar and tank shells and missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, which caused casualties in the ranks of the rebel and Islamic factions and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, also they caused civilians casualties and injuries, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored yesterday the regime forces managed to control parts of Tel Marwan southeast of Magher Al-Meer near Magher Al-Meer, while The regime forces managed to control Dahar Al-Zayat and Al-Mantar hill, near Magher Al-Meer, while the regime forces seek to tighten the noose more and more against the factions within the circle remained under the control of factions in the southwestern Rif Dimashq near the northern countryside of Quneitra and the Syrian –Lebanese borders, and the fighting caused today the death of 6 members of the regime forces including 2 officers, one of them is a colonel who is the head of the artillery branch, and the other officer is a major and the head of fire brigade in the seventh battalion of the regime forces, and fighters of the factions and Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham were also killed and injured, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented in early December 2017, that the southwestern Rif Dimashq witnessed the fall of a helicopter of the regime forces after being targeted by a guided missile, which killed its crew of 3 officers of the regime forces (a brigadier, a colonel and a major), while the escalation of the intensity of shelling comes as a continuation of the aerial bombardments which has almost ended its 11th consecutive week of intense artillery and aerial bombardment, where the helicopters have dropped during this period more than 800 barrel bombs on the southwestern of Rif Dimashq, along with hundreds of missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, hundreds of artillery, mortar and tank shells on villages, towns, farms and hills of the southwest of Rif Dimashq, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of tens of fighters during the clashes, also tens of members of the regime forces were killed in the same clashes.