The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Al-Shafa town’s massacre claims the lives of 13 citizens more than half of them are women, raising the death toll in 24 hours of shelling east of Euphrates to 16 including 10 females

Deir Ezzor Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that at least 13 people were killed in a massacre caused by bombardment of warplanes believed to belong to the International Coalition; targeted al-Shafa town located on the eastern banks of Euphrates River, where the bombing caused destruction and damage in the bombed place, and among the casualties there are at least 7 citizen women, also credible sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the bombardment was carried out on Tuesday night, raising to 16 including 10 citizen women, the number of people who were killed in bombardment by the same warplanes on the towns of Shafa and Hajin in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, which are controlled by the “Islamic State” organization, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation.

In the same context, the violent clashes are taking place in the outskirts and vicinity of Gharanij town east of the Euphrates River, between the Syria Democratic Forces supported by the International Coalition against the “Islamic State” organization, in an attempt by “Jazeera Storm” Operation Forces to advance and control the entire town, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published over the past week that  reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the clashes are taking place under the supervision of Syrian commanders in the organization as well as fighter from the area, in which their knowledge of the nature of the area reflected on the course of the operations, in addition to an other reason which is the presence of large amounts of gold, silver and money with the organization in Gharanij which used to be inhabited by citizens of Sh’aytat Clan, in which this town as well as the towns of Abu Hamam and al-Kashkiyyeh witnessed the biggest massacre against the Syrian people by ISIS which killed about 1000 Syrian citizens, and the reliable sources told the SOHR that the organization tries to preserve these amounts and sent them safely out of the area, so it fights desperately to repel the attacks and carries out counter attacks, while the International Coalition targets the area at lower pace, in an attempt by it with its backed forces to seize these amounts of gold, silver and money.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published few hours ago that the organization carried out counter attacks in the past few days and the most violent was during the past 48 hours, which were accompanied by detonating 2 booby trapped vehicle in the town, amid attacks by the organization and raging a fight between it against the forces of “Al-Jazeera Storm” Operation, which escalated their operation in early December 2017, in order to end the presence of ISIS on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, in which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored during the past 48 hours, the fall of human losses due to the counter attacks of ISIS, in which the SOHR documented the death of 29 members at least of the organization, while 8 members at least of the forces of “Al-Jazeera Storm” Operation were killed due to the detonations, clashes and the exchange of shelling, and the casualties in the ranks of the organization whose death was documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, include Abu Talha al-Almani who is one of the European commanders remaining in the pocket still controlled by the organization in the east of the Euphrates River, consists of 5 villages and towns as well as parts of Gharanij town.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on Thursday that the “Islamic State” organization has been continuing to maintain the areas of its influence for weeks, in the Syrian territories, these areas where the organization’s opponents remaining in the direct military confrontation against it, supposed to end its presence and complete to impose their control over the remaining pockets of the organization which lost tens of square kilo meters of its controlled areas, and turned in 2017, from the largest influential power with an area of 95325 square km, and with a percentage of 51.48 % of the geographical area of Syria, into a power that only controls about 3% of the geographical area of Syria with an area of 5750 square km.