An attack by the regime forces interrupts the calm of Idlib countryside and enables them to advance more with their allies and expand their scope of control to 63 towns and villages backed by a cover of intensive shelling
Idlib Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the violent fighting has been continuing since this dawn, Tuesday the 2nd of January 2018, between the regime forces backed by armed militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and the rebel and Islamic factions, following the continuation of the regime’s attack in the south-eastern countryside of Idlib, to expand their scope of control and go deeper into Idlib province, and to take the control of the villages of Al-Zarur and Sham Al-Hawa, which are important because of being in a high area, and overlooking areas in their vicinity, which allows the regime forces and their allies to monitor these areas with firearm and facilitates their advancement towards them, and the violent fighting is accompanied by exchange of targeting between the regime forces against Tahrir Al-Sham and the factions, with shells, missiles and heavy machineguns, and information about more casualties in the ranks of the both parties.
This advancement allows the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them to increase their scope of control in Idlib, and to increase the number of the villages they have controlled since the start of their attackon the 22nd of October 2017, in which they controlled 63 towns, villages and areas, which are “Al-Zarur, Sham Al-Hawa al-Khwyn, Al-Salumiya, Al-Jadu’eiyah, Tel Za’atar, Atshan, Tel Maraq, Abu Omar, Al-Nasriya, Al-Hamdaniya, and its station, Abu Dali, Umm Haratin, Tel Tawila Mohamoud, Ras Al-Ain, Tel Aswad, Qabibat, Um Al-Huda, al-Hawiyyah, Al-Rweideh, al-Syriatel Hill, Al-Shatib, Al-Zafriyyah, Al-Blil, Um Khazim, Um Trikiyyeh, Rajm al-Ahmar, Al-Shahatiyyah, Al-Mestriha, Jub Abyad, Rasm Abu Mayyal, RasmAl-Sawwan, Rasm Al-Sawi, Rasm Al-Ahmar, Rasm Al-Tina, Abu Laffah, Al-Mshirfah, Jwi’eid, Hasrat, Khirbat Al-Rahjan, Hasnawi, Mweileh Shamali, Qasr Ali , Qasr Shawi, Tal Mahsar, Al-Rabiaa, Duma, Rabda, Hazem, Arafa, Mrijeb al-Jamlan, Al-Khefyeh, Sham Al Hawa, Al Rahraha, Sarha, Abu Al-Gher, Hasnawi and Baghidid, and Mrijeb al-Jamlan.
While the SOHR has documented during the 8 days of intensive shelling, more than 1458 shells and missiles, about 396 raids carried out by the warplanes, and more than 609 explosive barrels dropped by the helicopters, the number of raids, barrels and shells which the regime forces carried out, dropped and fired on the areas of Umm Al-Khalayil, Al-Zarur, Sham Al-Hawa, Sukayk, Al-Taman’aa, Khan Shaykhun, Al-Lataminah, Atshan, Al-Mshirfah, villages in Sinjar Township, Babuline, Tell Maraq, Al-Hamdania, Abu Omar, Um Haratayn, Kafr Amim, Murak, Kafr Zita, Saraqeb, Tahtaya, Jarjnaz, Sarman, Al-Khwaiyn, Maarrat Al-Nu’man countryside, Tell Touqan, Sahyan, and other villages, residential communities and towns in Hama and Idlib countryside, which caused a large number of citizens and fighters during the past 8 consecutive days of the escalation.