Ongoing and violent battles take place between the regime forces and the factions of the Ghouta and the latter seek to advance amid missiles and aerial shelling

Rif Dimashq province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:: aerial and ground shelling by the regime forces on the Eastern Ghouta is still ongoing in conjunction with ongoing battles between the regime forces backed by their allied militiamen and reinforcement reached during the past 48 hours, against fighters of Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement and Al-Rahman Corps and Hayaat Tahrir Al-sham. The SOHR monitored that the battles concentrated near the province building and the nearby Al-Hagz Garage and the vicinity of Vehicle Department besieged by the factions, and the factions seek through their attacks to advance in the area and then control the building of the province and the Vehicle Department and the surrounding buildings, through human control or firearm control, while it rose to about 20, the number of airstrikes carried out by warplanes on areas in Harasta city, which is controlled by Ahrar Al-Sham and other area in its vicinity near Vehicle Department, in an air coverage by the warplanes to the regime forces besieged inside the Vehicle Department.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored during the past hours more human losses in the ranks of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them while more fighters of the factions were killed, to raise the death toll to 39 persons, including 5 officers at least including 3 brigadiers the number of the regime forces and their allied militiamen, while it rose to 45, the number of fighters of the factions including fighter of Gulf nationality who blew himself up in a booby trapped vehicle, also tens of both parties were injured with varying severity including officers of the regime forces, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday that the factions seek to expand their control in the area and control the Vehicle Department  and the governorate building in order to further secure the Eastern Ghouta and Harasta and let the fighters become free for new operations against the regime forces. This control will allow the factions to open new fronts near the vicinity of the capital Damascus, amid information obtained by the SOHR about the arrival of reinforcement of the regime forces to the area to back up the operations against the violent attacks of the factions, in an attempt to begin rebel attack to restore what they have lost and break the siege of the Vehicle Department.

The bombardment also killed 4 citizens they are a man and 2 of his children as well as the children’s grandmother, thus, the death toll has increased to 42 citizens including 11 children and 4 citizen women, who were killed due to the aerial, artillery and rocket shelling on cities and town in the Eastern Ghouta since Saturday the 30th of December 2017 and until now, and the casualties are 26 citizens including 8 children, 3 citizen women and a male nurse, they were killed in raids by the warplanes on areas in Harasta city controlled by the Islamic movement of Ahrar Al-Sham and raids on Madyara town, and 16 citizens including 3 children and a citizen woman were killed by artillery and rocket shelling targeted areas in the cities of Harasta, Hamuriya, Douma and Arbin as well as the towns of Kafr Batna, Mesraba, Al-Nashabiyah and Otaya, and the aerial and artillery shelling left tens of casualties and wounded included a large number of children and citizen women, and the number of casualties may increase because of the presence of serious injuries.