Clashes renew in areas in the vicinity of Kafriya and Al-Fu’ah towns north-east of Idlib city

Idlib Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: areas in the vicinity of the towns of Kafriya and Al-Fu’ah witnessed renewed clashes between fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions against the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the clashes were accompanied by exchange of targeting in the clash areas between the both parties, without information about casualties, also the SOHR published on Wednesday morning, that the clashes were renewed at a very violent pace after midnight of Tuesday – Wednesday, the 13th of June 2018, in areas in the vicinity and outskirts of the towns of Kafriya and al-Fu’ah, which were inhabited by Shiite citizens in the northeastern countryside of Idlib, between the local gunmen loyal to the regime forces against the Islamic factions, where the clashes were focused on the western and southern areas of the towns, in a renewed attack by the Islamic factions on the area which completed its first week, also the clashes were accompanied by exchange of shelling and targeting between both parties, in addition to the sound of explosions caused by the accompanied by fires in the contact areas, believed to be caused by IED detonations by the gunmen loyal to the regime, where the explosions and clashes have caused casualties in the ranks of both parties, where several fighters of the attacking factions were killed, and information about more casualties in the ranks of both parties, also several roads under the control of the factions were closed like the road of Ram Hamdan – Ma’arrat Mesrin, after being monitored by the machineguns of the local gunmen loyal to the regime during the clashes.

The Syrian Observatory published on Tuesday morning, that areas in the vicinity and outskirts of al-Fu’ah and Kafriya town which were inhabited by Shiite citizens in the northeast Idlib countryside; witnessed renewed clashes after midnight of yesterday, where the Syrian Observatory monitored these clashes taking place again after midnight of yesterday, between the local gunmen loyal to the regime forces against the Islamic factions who have been besieging both towns for 3 years, while the clashes –which were concentrated on the southern areas of the towns– were accompanied by exchange of targeting between both parties, where 2 members of the Islamic factions were killed during the clashes and information about more casualties in the ranks of both parties, also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 10th of Jun 2018 that 6 members at least of the pro-regime gunmen were killed in the towns of al-Fu’ah and Kafriya, after violent shelling and clashes between them against Saraya Darayya Gathering, Jaysh al-Ahrar, Uzbek and Turkestani fighters, and other factions in the vicinity of both towns in the northeastern countryside of Idlib city, also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received confirmed information that members of the attacking factions were also killed as a result  of these clashes and shelling, and the death toll may rise because there are some seriously injured persons, where this attack is the most violent on since almost 3 years, it also comes after less than 72 hours on Zradna Massacre in which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 51 persons at least, including 9 children under the age of eighteen and 11 woman, which is the largest massacre in 2018.

It worth mentioning that both towns are witnessing a siege by the rebel and Islamic factions since 2015, where they are considered the last besieged areas in Syria outside of the “Islamic State” organization’s areas of presence, and the aid is delivered to both town by baskets thrown by helicopters, while the town witnessed back in May 2018, several rounds of violent clashes and intense shelling by the rebel and Islamic factions which caused casualties, in addition to the occasional targeting by the snipers, also both towns witnessed during the past years evacuations of thousands of fighters and civilians of their residents, through agreements with the Syrian opposition parties, during which demographic change took place through transferring the residents of al-Fu’ah and Kafriya with the fighters, coincided with displacing thousands of Syrian civilians and fighters to areas in the Syrian north.