The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Air and ground strikes target south of Damascus accompanying the continuous violent clashes in Yarmouk Camp, Al-Tadamon and al-Hajar al-Aswad

Damascus Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the southern sector of the capital Damascus is witnessing the continuation of military operations of shelling, clashes and air raids, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of the violent clashes between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against members of the “Islamic State” organization, in areas in the vicinity and outskirts of al-Tadamon, Yarmouk Camp and areas between them in the al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood, and the clashes were accompanied by exchange of targeting in the clashes areas between both parties, amid continuous targeting on the contact lines and battlefronts between both parties of the clash, and information about more casualties in the ranks of both parties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored shelling by the regime forces on areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization, using artillery and rocket shells, and missiles believed to be ground-to-ground, in conjunction with raids by warplanes on areas in Yarmouk Camp, al-Tadamon and al-Hajar al-Aswad, no information about casualties.

The Syrian Observatory published this morning that in these violent clashes the “Islamic State” organization restored the initiative, despite regime’s control of most of al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood, where the Syrian Observatory monitored the organization carrying out counterattacks that forced the regime forces to retreat into residential blocks, buildings and sites in al-Hajar al-Aswad, in conjunction with the continuation of attempts by the regime forces and their allies of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities to control the entire neighbourhood, and confine the organization in a narrowest possible place to force it to bow to the agreement, which caused significant casualties in the ranks of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, where the Syrian Observatory monitored the killing of at least 19 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, and confirmed information about the killing of members of the organization in the same clashes which took place during the last 24 hours.

These casualties have raised the number of persons who have been killed of both parties, where it has increased to 142 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.