The regime forces control most of Al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood south of the capital

Damascus Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them managed to advance and take the control of large spaces of Al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood in the south of the capital Damascus, after clashes continued in the neighborhood between the “Islamic State” organization against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, where the members of the organization withdrew towards the area of Yarmouk Camp and Al-Tadamon neighborhood next to Al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published a short time ago, that the southern part of the capital Damascus is witnessing continued combat operations and aerial, artillery and rocket shelling, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored continuation of the violent fighting between the “Islamic State” organization against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, in areas in Yarmouk Camp and Al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood, in the southern part of the capital Damascus, and the clashes are accompanied by targeting by the regime forces by artillery and rocket shells and by missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, amid bombardment by warplanes on the clash areas, along with the ongoing displacement process from the southern Rif Dimashq to the Syrian North, where the shelling and bombardment caused further material damage to the property of the citizens and to the infrastructure and service institutions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the fall of more human losses in the ranks of the conflicted parties, where it has increased to 117 at least, the number of members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, who were killed since Thursday the 19th of April 2018, including 16 officers and 6 of them were executed, while it has increased to 102, the number of members of the organization who were killed in the shelling, clashes and targeting that left tens of wounded in the ranks of the both parties, and the death toll is expected to rise because of the continued combat operations and the presence of injured cases in critical situation.

And sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory few days ago, that the Jaysh al-Islam have handed over about half of it position points opposite to the “Islamic State” organization to the regime forces, after a meeting  for commanders of Jaysh al-Islam south of Rif Dimashq with an Islamic brigade working in the area, and, with the regime forces, which pushed fighters of Jaysh al-Islam to leave their position points and they were divided in this decision between them and the leadership of Jaysh al-Islam, also trusted sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the meeting on the 26th of April 2018 have included the Russian General, who confirmed that after his meeting with Ali Mamlouk and the Russian Forces’ Commander in Syria, they saw that there is no use in regime’s presence on the line separating the factions and the “Islamic State” organization, and that the factions operating in the south of Rif Dimashq should maintain their fronts without allowing the organization to advance, and should prepare a coordination team between the factions operating south of Rif Dimashq and the regime forces for both parties to coordinate with each other’s, after stopping the violations of the 4th Division and the Republican Guards against the factions, and that the humanitarian crossing that reach to the areas of south of Rif Dimashq will be opened, provided that the organization does not benefit from it, the sources also confirmed that the Russian General asked for the attendance of all officers who threatened the factions in the meeting on April the 25th, and assured them that everyone must follow orders and instructions, and that the regime has no ability to face the organization as the factions do, and that the Republican Guards must be cautious because it is a scandal for a member of them to be slaughtered by the “Islamic State” organization and beheaded, and that he is confident that many of them will be beheaded if they take the contact points of the factions instead of fighters of the factions working south of Rif Dimashq, and he put the regime officers responsible for the injury of its members or members of the factions.