Airport fighting intensifies, rebels shoot down six warplanes
Syrian rebel fighter carrying a surface-to-air missile.
- Fighting for the country’s main airport continued for the third consecutive day.
- The Syrian National Coalition edged closer toward forming a transitional government.
- Regime forces continued their attacks on opposition areas, killing as many as 172 people.
- Bait Sahem, Damascus Suburb: Regime airstrikes cause mass destruction and several casualties among humans and animals, P2
- Safeira, Aleppo Suburb: Many people die and more get injured due to the indiscriminate shelling, P2
- Damascus Suburb: The rebels detain number of officers and soldiers including a colonel after taking over the Marj al-Sultan airbase
Today’s Statistics
- Death Toll: 172 including 9 children, 6 women and 36 rebel fighters (Damascus and Suburbs: 71, Aleppo: 36, Idlib: 21, Deir Azzour: 15, Daraa: 12, Raqa: 8, Homs: 6, Hama: 3)
- Number of areas shelled: +99
- Regime Soldiers Death Toll: +50
- Number of People Wounded: +250
- Number of People Detained: +25
- FSA Key Operations:
- Shot down four fighter jets in Damascus, Idlib and Hama.
- Destroyed a fighter jet and a helicopter gunship during an attack on Deir Azzour airbase.
- Seized control of the free zone near infantry academy in the suburb of Aleppo.
- Seized control of a radio station in Deir Azzour suburb of Ayash.
Summary of Events
The rebels continued to make tangible progress during the third day of the battle for the country’s main airport. They destroyed a number of military tanks as they clashed with regime forces in the nearby towns of Abada and Harran Awamid. They also attacked the military security branch located in the town of Aqraba near the “third bridge” and clashed with regime forces near the town of Bait Sahem located near the “second bridge” of the 20km-long road to the airport.
The rebels shot down a fighter jet as it was attacking the town of Aqraba and seized control of the 35th regiment located at the town of Ghasouleh in the East Ghouta district of Damascus province. They also shot down three fighter jets in the suburbs of Damascus, Hama and Idlib and bombed a fighter jet and a helicopter gunship during their attack on the Deir Azzour airbase.
The rebel Al-Habib al-Mustafa brigade claimed responsibility for a car bomb explosion that left dozens of people dead and wounded in the mainly Alawite neighborhood of Ush al-Warwar in central Damascus.
A new military committee has emerged after the three-day meeting of the The Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces in Cairo. The committee will be tasked with uniting all military units in Syria under its umbrella and work out a relief appeal which will be presented during the next “Friends of Syria” conference in morocco. The coalition has also edged closer toward choosing a prime minister to lead a transitional government which would have up to 10 ministers who must be above 35 years old, revolutionaries, technocrats and from outside the coalition.
The Internet connections began working again after a two-day blackout as regime forces continued their major onslaught on the opposition areas in Damascus and its suburbs. The neighbourhoods of Jobar and Hajar Aswad came under heavy aerial and rocket bombardments leaving dozens of houses destroyed and at least 11 people dead. Some 60 people were also killed and more than 200 others were wounded in similar attacks on the suburbs of Bait Sahem, Douma, Daraya, Moadamia and Thiyabiya.
Regime forces killed 36 people in Aleppo, eight of whom died due to the indiscriminate shelling in the town of Safeira while 16 rebel fighters were killed during clashes in the neighbourhoods of Ameriya and Leramon as well as in the Aleppo suburb of Mosalmiya. They killed 21 people in Idlib, seven of whom died when a regime helicopter gunship fired indiscriminately on the vehicles that were moving on Aleppo-Idlib road near the provincial town of Taftanaz. Meanwhile, 12 people were killed in Daraa where most of them died due to the indiscriminate shelling in the towns of Tafas and Bosra. They also killed 15 people in Deir Azzour, five of whom died due to the violent shelling in the town of Ayash while seven others were summarily executed in the neighbourhood of Ba’ajin. Some six people were also killed in Homs, two of whom died under torture.
At least eight people were killed and dozens more were injured in a car bomb explosion in the centre of Raqa city which saw a major strike and civil disobedience in condemnation of the regime’s brutal crackdown against its opposition.
Regime forces bombarded several areas in Homs, Aleppo, Deir Azzour, Daraa, Hama and Idlib, causing extensive damage to residential buildings and leaving dozens of people wounded.
Revolution Statistics
Syrians killed: 47,268
Children killed: 3,534
Females killed: 3,584
Soldiers killed: 5,122
Protestors killed under torture: 1256
Missing: +76,000
Protestors currently incarcerated: +216,000
Syrian refugees since March: +462,904
Refugees in Turkey: +123,747
Refugees in Lebanon: +133,634
Refugees in Jordan: +138,401
Refugees in Iraq: +60,307
Refugees in North Africa: +6,815
Videos
Armed Resistance
Ommal, Deir Azzour: Rebel fighters bomb a military tank
Hameh, Damasucs Suburb: A group of rebels form a new squad
Damascus Suburb: Rebel fighters fire on regime warplanes and say they shot two of them, P2
Deir Azzour: Rebel fighters acquire a military tank
Damascus Suburb: Rebel fighters open fire on regime warplanes and say they shot down two of them, P2
Damascus
Hajar Aswad: Airstrikes level entire buildings to the ground
Qadam: Buildings ablaze due to the violent shelling and clashes
Jobar: Regime forces bombard the town
Daf Ashoq: Clouds of smoke billow from residential buildings due to the indiscriminate shelling
Damascus Suburbs
Douma: Regime shelling leaves dozens of casualties, P2
Daraya: Dozens of casualties caused by the indiscriminate shelling, P2
Moadamiya: A school destroyed after been hit by regime shells
Aqraba: The devastating aftermath of the fierce shelling
Bibila: A receives treatment after been hit by a shrapnel
Zamalka: Buildings leveled to the ground due to the indiscriminate shelling
Aleppo
Hollok: A baby girl dies after regime shells landed on her house
Ummayad Mosque: The devastating aftermath of the fierce shelling
Sowayqa: The ancient souk destroyed after been shelled by regime warplanes
Masaken Hanano: A house set ablaze after been hit by regime shells
Aleppo Suburbs
Marea: Many people get injured due to the indiscriminate shelling
Al-Bab: MiG airstrike leaves many people wounded
Homs
Rastan: Regime forces impose a suffocating siege on the town
Rastan: Humanitarian conditions worsen due to the suffocating siege, P2
Talbiseh: A child critically injured after been hit by a shrapnel
Bowayda: Helicopter gunships drop barrel bombs on the town
Qusayr: Many people die and more get injured due to the indiscriminate shelling, P2
Daraa
Central City: General strike and civil disobedience in condemnation of the regime’s crimes
Naseib: Regime warplanes fly overhead
Tafas: Many people die and more get injured due to the indiscriminate shelling
Tafas: Funeral procession of the fallen heroes
Hama
Aleppo Road: Demonstrators chant for the areas under attack
Idlib
Khan Sheikhoun: General strike in condemnation of the regime’s crimes
Bennesh: A petrol station set ablaze after been hit by regime shells
Sarmin: A man dies after been hit by regime shelling
Taftanaz: Lifeless body of fallen hero Yaser Rahal
Barrah: Funeral procession of the fallen heroes
Deir Azzour
Mayadin: People dig trenches to hide in them
Sour: A helicopter gunship drops a barrel bomb on the town
Ayash: Regime fighter jets fly overhead
Shahil: Activists show an the remnant of an ordnance that was dropped on their town
Ayash: Many people die due to the regime’s indiscriminate shelling
Latakia
Salma: Clouds of smoke billow from the area due to the indiscriminate shelling
Raqa
Tal Abyad: General strike in condemnation of the regime’s brutal crackdown
Mafraq al-Jazara: Mass protest in condemnation of the car explosion
Demonstrations and Activities Abroad
Spain: Sit-in in solidarity with the people of Syria
