The Russian warplanes and the regime forces escalate their targeting of Ma’dan and violent clashes to control the last ISIS-controlled city in Al-Raqqah
Al-Raqqah Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: violent clashes continue to take place between the regime forces and their allied militiamen, of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, and the tribal forces, who are trained and armed by the Russians, on one hand and ISIS on the other in areas at the outskirts of Ma’dan, which is considered the last city under the control of ISIS in Al-Raqqah Province. The regime forces are attempting to advance and take control of the city under the cover of the Russian and the regime’s warplanes and by means of the intensive artillery and rocket shelling on the same areas. Meanwhile, the regime forces continue their inspection operations in the villages of Al-Khamisiyah and Al-Jaber, which of August 2017. Information was thfell under their control on Tuesday, the 8reported to the SOHR to the effect that several members of the regime’s allied militiamen and the tribal forces were killed and injured as a result of an explosion of landmines previously planted by ISIS in the villages of Al-Khamisiyah and Al-Jaber.
The SOHR published yesterday that the regime forces were able with the support of their loyal gunmen and the Russian air cover to control villages and residential blocks located west of city, and they have reached the outskirts of Madan city which is considered the last city controlled by the “Islamic State” organization in Al-Raqqah Province, where clashes are taking place between both parties in the outskirts of the city, which is left with a village located to the east under the control of the “Islamic State” organization, and if the regime forces control them then the presence of the “Islamic State” organization in the countryside of Al-Raqqah will be ended, and by that the organization will only be in control of about 45% of Al-Raqqah city only in Al-Raqqah Province.
The continuous airstrikes on Madan city and the villages on the southern banks of the Euphrates River, have caused a massive displacement, where the cities and villages at the southern banks of the Euphrates River are virtually empty of their inhabitants, most of them have displaced to areas controlled by the Syria Democratic Forces in the western countryside of Raqqa and in the northern banks of the Euphrates River, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on Saturday, the 5th of August, that the regime forces managed to take control of a number of villages and residential complexes located between Ghanim Al-Ali town and Ma’dan city. They are only 4 km away from the walls of Ma’dan city, which is considered the last city under the control of ISIS in Al-Raqqah Province. Such an important advancement came as a result of the intensive violent rocket and artillery shelling by the regime forces and the raids carried out by the Russian and the regime’ warplanes, leaving hundreds of houses, shops, buildings, utilities and infrastructure destroyed.