The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

With air and ground strikes, the regime forces continue attacking ISIS south of the capital, Damascus

Damascus Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: aerial and rocket shelling continue on places in the southern section of the capital, Damascus, where the Syrian Observatory monitored on Saturday morning the 5th of May 2018, targeting by warplanes and helicopters using missiles and barrel bombs for places at the outskirts al-Tadamon neighborhood, Yarmouk Camp and al-Hajar al-Aswad, accompanied by rocket shelling by the regime forces by shells and missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, these continuous shelling comes in conjunction with the continuation of clash at a different pace of violence in areas at the outskirts and vicinity of Yarmouk Camp, al-Hajar al-Aswad and al-Tadamon neighborhood, between the “Islamic State” organization against the regime forces are supported by the gunmen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, within continuous attacks by the latter to control more areas and tighten the grip on the organization and to confine it in a narrow geographical spot.

And with the continuation of military operations, aerial and missile shelling and clashes in the area; the Syrian Observatory documented the death of more casualties, where  it has increased to 123 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 111, 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.