As the death toll increases to 21 people due to the heavy shelling, the regime forces backed by their allies hold their control over hills and villages in the vicinity of Abu Dhuhur air base

Idlib province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:: warplanes and helicopters are still flying in the sky of Idlib since Monday dawn until the moment, launching more than 90 airstrikes at areas in its countryside, and these airstrikes targeted cities, towns and villages of Khan Shaykhon, Jirjenaz Saraqeb, Abu Dhuhur, Ma’ret Harma, Qatra, Al-Barsa, Frawn, Heesh and the vicinity of Jobas village and Sheikh Idris, Mardikh, Al-Ghadka, with more than 90 air strikes to date, targeting the cities, towns and villages of Khan Sheikun and Jirjenaz and Maasran. Meanwhile, the SOHR documented that the dath toll of those killed in Maasaran and Saraqeb rose to 21 martyrs, including 2 women and 6 children, and the martyrs are 14 civilians who were killed by airstrikes on Al-Batata Market north of Saraqeb, 5 martyrs (a woman and 4 of her children) who were killed in aerial shelling on Ma’asaran, and a woman and a child were killed in shelling that targeted Al-Ihsan hospital in Saraqeb, and the death toll is still expected to increase due to the presence of several injured in serious conditions, and information about other martyrs were reported.

Meanwhile, the regime force managed to hold their control and further secure the air base of Abu Dhuhur, following violent clashes against Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham and the factions in the western areas of the air base, where the regime forces backed by their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities and backed by heavy aerial and rocket shelling to control hills and villages in the vicinity of Abu Dhuhur town, after they managed to control the town.

It noteworthy that the SOHR published about 4 days ago that the massive military operations in Idlib and Hama and then Aleppo, completed today their first month since they were launched on the 25th of December 2017, after the Brigadier in the regime forces, Suhail Al-Hassan, was assigned to lead these operations which enabled two main parties to achieve advancement, the first is the regime forces baked by their allies of the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Revolutionary Iranian Guards and the armed militiamen loyal to the regime of Syrian, Palestinian and Arab nationalities, which achieved wide advancement in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib and Hama, controlling about 325 towns and villages, the largest section was in the southern countryside of Aleppo, followed by the eastern and the south eastern countryside of Idlib, and then the north-eastern countryside of Hama, while the second party, the “Islamic State” organization, achieved wide advancement and imposed its control over 82 villages and towns, in the north-eastern countryside of Hama, the southern countryside of Aleppo and the eastern and the south-eastern countryside of Idlib, in which the advancement of the both parties came at the expense of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham which withdrew due to the intensive shelling and its inability to repel the advancement of the both parties, and as the regime forces followed the technique of confining it in separated pockets.

The advancement by the regime forces at the expense of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, was accompanied by unprecedented heavy firepower used by the regime forces targeting villages, towns and cities in the countryside of Idlib by hundreds of raids, barrel bombs, shells and missiles, believed to be ground to ground, leaving hundreds of people killed and injured, in which the SOHR documented the death of 137 civilians, including at least 40 children below the age of 18 and 31 women citizens over the 18, since the 25th of December until the 25th of January 2018, while tens of others were injured with permanent disabilities and sever injuries, which may increase the death toll, and the shelling also caused destruction of hundreds of houses and shops and properties, in addition to the damage to destruction in the infrastructure of areas which witnessed heavy shelling, in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo.

Also the battles that took place between Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham, Islamic Turkestan, Noor Al-Din Al-Zenki Movement, Jaysh Al-Ahrar, Al-Sham Corps, Jaysh Al-Izza, Free Jaysh Idlib, Jaysh Al-Nokhaba, Al-Jaysh Al-Thani, Jaysh Al-Nasr, Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement, against the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, caused a large number of human losses in the ranks of both parties, where the SOHR documented the death of 571 fighters and members who were killed within a month of the fierce battles that took place in areas northeast of Hama and the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo. They are 257 members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities including at least 22 officers, while 314 fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions, Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham, Turkestan Islamic Party, including at least 103 fighters of non-Syrian nationalities of Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham and Turkestan Islamic Party, and hundreds of both parties were inured with different severity, due to the artillery and aerial shelling, clashes and an exchange of targeting on the clash areas between the both parties.