Cautious calm continues for about 24 hours in Hama countryside…after 6 weeks of fierce clashes, more than 1220 raids, the death of 270 members and fighters, and the displacement of about 50000 citizens

Hama Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: calm has been continuing in the north-eastern countryside of Hama since yesterday afternoon the 1st of December 2017, in which a complete calm has been prevailing the fronts and the contact areas between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamic Party of Turkestan and the rebel and Islamic factions, and this calm came after ongoing fighting and shelling since the 22nd of October 2017, due to an attack started by the regime forces in an attempt to recover many areas they lost, and to increase their scope of control at the expense of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and the rebel and Islamic factions.

This calm is the longest one since the clashes started 6 weeks ago, in which the fronts have been witnessing a complete calm in terms of the fighting, the exchange of shelling, and the aerial and artillery shelling, amid anticipation of developing the situation and the consequences of this calm, which coincided with information received to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights about bringing military reinforcements to the area, of their forces and militiamen loyal to them to carry out a new attack enables the regime forces to advance and take the control of more villages after they managed to take the control of Al-Shahtiya, Jub Abyad, Rasm Abu Myal, Rasm Al-Sawy, Rasm Al-Ahmar, Rasm al-Tina, Abu Lafa, Marijab Al-Jamlan, Al-Khafiya, Sham Al-Hawa, Al-Rehraha, Sarha, Abu Al-Ghar, Baghdid, Al-Mushayrafa, Jawiad, Hasrat, Kharbat Al-Rahjan, Hasnawy, Mwailah Shamali, Qasr Ali, Qasr Shawy, Tel Mahsar, Al-Rabia, Douma, Rabda, Al-Hazm and Arafa, the regime forces also intend through this calm to strength their fortifications and hold their controlled positions in the north-eastern countryside of Hama, in an attempt to repel the future counter attacks which may be carried out by the rebel and Islamic factions on the areas they lost and those which mentioned above.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented that the warplanes and helicopters carried out more than 1220 raids, and hundreds of missiles and shells, which targeted the factions and Tahrir Al-Sham held-areas, and the SHOR also documented the fall of a large number of human losses in the ranks of the both parties, in which it documented the death of 156 members of the Tahrir Al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Movement and the Islamic and rebel factions, who were killed since the regime forces started on the 22nd of October 2017, their heavy shelling on areas in the north eastern countryside of Hama, which was followed by violent attack to achieve advancement in the area, until today the 2nd of December 2017, and 112 members at least of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them were killed in the same clashes, and the violent clashes in this countryside left big number of displaced, whose numbers hit more than 50 thousand displaced civilians, who fled the areas close to the clash area towards other areas in the southern and southeastern countryside of Idlib, and towards other areas in the northern countryside of Hama, while dozens of civilians were killed and injured in this artillery, missile and aerial shelling, and this violent clashes and the advancement reached the regime to an area hundreds of meters away from Al-Rahjan town, which is the hometown of the Syrian regime defense minister, Fahed Jasem Al-Farij, which became out of control of the regime forces in the mid of July 2014, where it was controlled by Nusra Front (Qaeda organization in the Levant) at that time.