After about a year of not using them, helicopters drop barrels on the east of Daraa after rounds of shelling by warplanes and the continuous escalation of shelling by the regime forces
Daraa Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Regime’s helicopters bombed today morning, Friday, using more than 12 barrel bombs, where they targeted areas in the towns of the al-Hrak, Nahta, and al-Mjidel in the eastern countryside of Daraa, which caused material damage but no information about casualties. This is first time the helicopters use the barrel bombs since about a year, i.e. since before the July 2017 agreement about the Syrian south, which took place by a Jordanian –American – Russian consensus.
Warplanes targeted after midnight of yesterday places in the town of al-Hrak in the eastern countryside of Daraa, while the regime forces continue their rocket shelling targeting the countryside of Daraa, where the Syrian Observatory monitored continuous shelling since the midnight of yesterday until now, targeted areas in towns and villages of Dael, al-Shayyah, Jadal, Shomra, al-Hrak, Eastern al-Kark, al-Naemeh, Mlehat al-Atash, and other places in Daraa city, while shells were launched by the factions after midnight of yesterday and landed on areas controlled by the regime forces in Daraa city, but no information about casualties until the moment, and the Syrian Observatory published yesterday night, Thursday, that explosions rocked areas in the eastern countryside of Daraa province, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored warplanes carrying out 6 raids which targeted areas in Bosr al-Harir town, preceded by shelling by the regime forces and targeting by heavy machineguns to areas in Msikah town and other places in Al-Lajat area, which caused material damage, without information about casualties, along with continuation of clashes of varying violence in places in Samma area near the administrative border with the western countryside of Al-Suwaidaa, between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against the rebel and Islamic factions, while a child girl died affected by the injury she had as a result of shelling by the regime forces on areas in Al-Hrak town, raising to 16 at least, the number of citizens who have been killed since Tuesday and until today, Thursday, as a result of shelling by the regime forces on Daraa countryside, including a citizen woman and her son as well as 3 other citizen women and 2 child girls, and the SOHR also documented the death of 3 citizens including 2 children who were killed due to the fall of shells on areas in Al-Matar neighborhood in Daraa city and other places in Al-Sanamayn city.
And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published few hours ago, that the rocket and artillery shelling continued on the eastern sector of Daraa countryside, where the regime forces targeted areas in the towns of this countryside by more shells, which resulted in increasing the number of rocket and artillery shells and missiles which were fired on Daraa countryside to more than 430 shells, where they targeted the villages and towns of Al-Karak Al-Sharqi, Nahta, Bosr al-Harir, Eastern Maliha, Western Maliha and Om Walad in the eastern sector of Daraa countryside, al-Lajat area in the north-eastern countryside of Daraa, Abtaa in the middle countryside of Daraa, and Kafr Nasej in the north-western countryside of Daraa, and this shelling aims to force the factions operating in the countryside of Daraa –which have agreed to form a central operation room in the Syrian south– to yield and accept the Russian conditions to achieve a “reconciliation and agreement” in Daraa and Quneitra provinces, and to preventing a military action that would cause a large human losses of civilians, fighters, members of both parties, also the regime forces are shelling these areas which include the least number of villages; trying to find a corridor for them in case no agreement was reached, to start a military operation that would split factions’-controlled areas, where the factions control the largest part of Daraa and Al-Quneitra, while the regime forces targeted sites of the factions, and information about casualties, also the return of shelling to Daraa came after hours of relative calm, in the wake of violent clashes and intense shelling by tens of artillery and rocket shells by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them on the eastern and northeastern countryside of Daraa, which caused a massive displacement of citizens towards areas away from the shelling and fighting, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored within the past 48 hours of military operations the displacement of about 12500 people from the villages and towns of Bosr al-Harir, Eastern Mleha, Western Mleha, al-Hrak, Msikah, Asim, al-Shomarah, al-Shayyah, and al-Bostan in the eastern countryside of Daraa, amid fears of the increase of displacement due to the military operations east of the province, after the failure of the international parties in finding a solution to the situation of the Syrian south, with the continued stubbornness of the Iranian forces, their allies, and the gunmen supported by them; in withdrawing from the area according to the regional and international conditions imposed to achieve the solution in the Syrian south.