Rebels seize more military bases, regime jets strike 26 locations
Syrian rebel fighter stands near a bombed ambulance while holding his gun – Aleppo
- The rebels seized control of new military sites and shot down five warplanes in different places across the country.
- Regime fighter jets bombarded more than 26 locations, targeting a bakery and state buildings.
- The Syrian National Coalition confirmed its rejection of any peace plan that doesn’t include the ouster of Assad.
- Videos purportedly show five warplanes shot down by the rebels in Aleppo, Hama, Damascus, Homs and Idlib, P2,P3, P4, P5
- Jabaadin, Damascus Suburb: The rebels seize control of the an air defense base
- Ghanto, Homs: Regime airstrike on bakery leaves many people dead and wounded, P2, P3
Today’s Statistics
- Death Toll: 119 including 9 children, 7 women and 49 rebel fighters (Damascus and Suburbs: 50, Idlib: 26, Homs: 18, Aleppo: 18, Hama: 12, Deir Azzour: 6, Daraa: 4, Raqa: 2, Latakia: 1)
- Number of areas shelled: +287
- Regime Soldiers Death Toll: +45
- Number of People Wounded: +50
- Number of People Detained: +10
- FSA Key Operations:
- Seized control of an air defence base in the Damascus suburb of Jabaadin.
- Seized control of Zarba town in the southern suburb of Aleppo.
- Shot down five warplanes.
- Seized control of a military checkpoint in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani.
- Seized control of 80th Brigade’s base near Aleppo International Airport.
- Seized big parts of the police academy as well as the Menneg and Quwayres airbases in the suburbs of Aleppo.
- Stormed a number of military checkpoints in Jesser Shughour and in the Hama suburbs of Mharda and Janan.
Summary of Events
The rebels made some of their biggest gains in the 21-month uprising as they took over a number of military posts in Aleppo, Idlib, Damascus, Raqa and Daraa in addition to shooting down five warplanes in five different areas across the country.
The rebels seized control of an air defence base in the town of Jabaadin in the Qalamon district of Damascus province while taking over one of the most heavily guarded military checkpoints in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani after 13 days of heavy fighting that resulted in the death of dozens of regime soldiers and the destruction of several military tanks and armoured vehicles.
In Aleppo, the rebels took control of the town of Zarbeh, the biggest town in the southern suburbs of Aleppo. They also took control of a base that belongs to the army’s 80th brigade near the Aleppo international airport which is also located few kilometres away from the Nerab airbase. The rebels kept pushing forward and gained new grounds in the police academy in the western suburb of Khan Asal and fought heavy battles with regime forces inside the airbases of Menneg and Quwayres where they destroyed a number of military tanks and killed many army soldiers.
The rebels also seized control of a number of military checkpoints in the Idlib suburb of Jesser Shughour as well as in the towns of Mharda and Janan in the suburbs of Hama. Moreover, they seized a strategic checkpoint in the Hasaka-Aleppo international road in the province of Raqa and stormed the 78th police station near the border with Jordan. Heavy fighting also continued in Homs, Qunaitera and other places across the country.
More high-profile defections took place today with General Ibrahim Kahlifa, Deputy Chief of Police and head of the Joint Security Commission of Inquiry in Hama as well as General Mohammad Ali Hassoun, head of the Assad Military Academy in Aleppo, both announced their defection to the rebels’ side. Meanwhile, the rebels said they detained the commander-in-chief of the Naseeb border post on the Daraa-Damascus international road near the Daraa suburb of Khirbet Ghazaleh.
The spokesperson of the Syrian National Coalition reassured the oppositions’ refusal to any peace settlement that doesn’t include Assad’s departure. This came in response to the UN-Arab League special peace envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brhaimi’s proposal of forming a new transitional government without stating whether Assad should stay in power or quit.
Regime forces killed more than 119 people, including nine children, seven women and 49 rebel fighters.
They shelled as many as 287 different locations across the country using all sort of heavy weaponry, including cluster, phosphorous, thermobaric and TNT bombs. Some 70 locations were shelled by mortar shells and 141 others were pounded by heavy artillery. More than 75 locations came under rocket shelling as fighter jets struck more than 26 locations and helicopter gunships dropped barrel bombs on 11 more. These attacks caused extensive damage to residential buildings and left dozens of people dead and wounded and sent thousands fleeing their homes.
Regime forces continued to target bakeries and infrastructure buildings. An air strike carried out by a fighter jet on a bakery in the Homs suburb of Ghanto killed ten civilians and wounded dozens more. Another airstrike targeted the premises of the governmental Water Corporation in the Deir Azzour suburb of Mayadin, causing extensive damage to the building and leaving many people dead and wounded.
More than 50 people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs today. The Palestinian refugee camps saw another violent day as heavy fighting and shelling renewed in the Yarmouk refugee camp where at least nine people died and many others got injured. Another car bomb blast rocket the mainly Palestinian town of Sbeneh, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more. Dozens more people were killed as government forces continued to bombard the Damascus suburbs of Moadamiyat al-Sham, Mesraba, Daraya, Harasta, Irbin, Zabadani, Nabek and Shabaa.
Some 26 people died in Idlib, half of whom were killed by regime shelling that targeted the towns of Bennesh and Ariha while the other half were killed during clashes in the Idlib suburb of Jesser Shughour. More than 19 people also died in Aleppo, at least six of whom were killed due the indiscriminate shelling in the neighbourhood of Shaar and the provincial town of Safeera. Another 15 people died in Hama, half of which were killed due to the violent shelling in the towns of Latamna, Kafarzeita and Morek.
Syrians killed: 51,646
Children killed: 3,873
Females killed: 3,817
Soldiers killed: 6,009
Protesters killed under torture: 1,357
Missing: +60,000
Protesters currently incarcerated: +140,000
Syrians injured: +137,000
Syrian refugees since March: +558,643
Refugees in Turkey: +147,107
Refugees in Lebanon: +170,637
Refugees in Jordan: +162,247
Refugees in Iraq: +67,015
Refugees in Egypt: +11,637
Videos
Armed Resistance
Menneg, Aleppo: The rebels bombard the airbase with mortar shells
Zabadani, Damascus Suburb: The rebels storm the town’s most heavily guarded military checkpoint
Khan Asal, Aleppo Suburb: The rebels bombard the police academy with captured heavy artillery
Ma’arrat Noman, Idlib: The rebels bomb a military tank
Daraa: The rebels storm a police station near the border with Jordan
Damascus
Jobar: Regime military tanks bombard the neighborhood
Qabun: The neighborhood comes under heavy mortar shelling
Hajar Aswad: The heavy shelling leaves many people dead and wounded, P2
Tadamon: Leaked video footage shows regime forces brutally beating up an unarmed civilian
Damascus Suburbs
Saqba: Many civilians, including children, get critically injured due to the indiscriminate aerial shelling, P2
Daraya: Regime forces bombard the town
Zamalka: The aftermath of the heavy shelling
Thiyabiya: Clouds of smoke rise from the town due to the heavy shelling
Douma: Regime fighter jet bombards the town
Aleppo
Shaar: Many people die and more get injured due to the violent shelling, P2
Old City: An ancient souk sets ablaze due to the indiscriminate mortar shelling
Jazmati: The devastating aftermath of the indiscriminate shelling
Aleppo Suburbs
Batbo: Funeral procession of one of the fallen heroes who died due to the heavy shelling
Marea: Funeral procession of a rebel fighter who died during clashes with regime forces
Herbel: A child gets critically injured due to the indiscriminate shelling
Al-Bab: Activists accuse regime forces of using thermobaric bombs against them
Homs
Zafaraneye: Regime forces bombard the village
Old city: Clouds of smoke billow from the city due to the heavy shelling
Jobar: Many people die and more get injured due to the violent shelling, P2
Talbisa: A man dies due to the indiscriminate shelling
Qusayr: Funeral procession of a child who died due to the fierce shelling
Daraa
Harrah: Regime forces carry out looting and arson that left many houses destroyed, P2
Inkhel: The devastating aftermath of the heavy shelling
Sheikh Maskin: The town comes under heavy mortar and artillery shelling
Hama
Kafarzeita: Many people die due to the indiscriminate shelling, P2
Morek: Lifeless bodies of the rebels fighters who died during clashes with regime forces, P2
Latamna: A man dies due to the heavy shelling
Zour Heisa: Man shot dead by regime security forces
Idlib
Ma’arrat Noman: Clouds of smoke billow from the town due to the heavy shelling
Bennsh: Mass destruction caused by the indiscriminate aerial raids
Kafrouma: Regime warplanes bombard the town
Jesser Shughour: Lifeless body of rebel fighter Jihad Haydar Sheikh
Ma’arshamsha: The town comes under heavy shelling
Deir Azzour
Arfi: Fighting and shelling intensify
Mayadin: Many people die and more get injured due to the indiscriminate shelling, P2, P3
Hamidiya: Mass destruction caused by the indiscriminate shelling
Latakia
Akrad Mountain: Clouds of smoke billow from the area due to the heavy shelling
Demonstrations and Activities Abroad
Saudi: The National Saudi Campaign for the Syrian people
Jordan: Syrians protest the regime’s crimes against humanity
