Rebels score advances in Damascus, Idlib and Deir Azzour
Regime military tank engulfs in flames after been bombed by rebel fighters in the Damascus suburb of Daraya
- Rebel fighters stormed the railway station south of Damascus in addition to a number of military sites in its suburbs.
- Regime announced a suspension of prosecutions of opposition members, activists said a senior opposition figure was arrested on Friday.
- Regime forces killed more than 105 Syrians today, mainly in Damascus, Homs and Aleppo.
- Qadam, Damascus: Rebel fighters storm the railway station, P2, P3
- Jesser Shughour, Idlib: Rebel fighters take over the village of Yaqoubiya, P2
- Habeit, Idlib Suburb: Regime shelling leaves many people dead and wounded, P2
- Total Death Toll: 130
- Opposition Death Toll: 105 including 14 children, 6 women and 31 rebel fighters (Damascus and Suburbs: 33, Homs: 18, Aleppo: 18, Idlib: 11, Daraa: 10, Hama: 9, Deir Azzour: 3, Hasaka: 2, Latakia: 1)
- Regime Soldiers & Militiamen Death Toll: +25
- Number of areas shelled: +337
- Number of People Wounded: +60
- Number of People Detained: +0
- FSA Key Operations:
- Destroyed the Military Security Branch in Damascus suburb of Sa’saa.
- Stormed the 22nd Brigade army base and the 781st air defense base in the suburbs of Damascus.
- Stormed the railway station in the neighborhood of Qadam in Damascus.
- Stormed the premises of the Military Housing Foundation in Aleppo.
- Seized control of two villages in the Idlib suburb of Jesser Shughour.
- Attacked the Military Security compound in Deir Azzour city.
- Destroyed 13 military tanks and 10 armored vehicles.
- Captured 6 military tanks in the suburbs of Damascus and Idlib.
Summary of Events
Rebel fighters stormed a strategic railway station in the neighborhood of Qadam, one of the regime’s largest military outposts in the south of the capital. The station is located at the crossroads among the southern neighborhoods of Qadam, Maidan, Yarmouk Refugee Camp and Naher Aysha.
In rural Damascus, the rebels inflicted the heaviest losses on regime forces in weeks. They destroyed five military tanks and six armored vehicles in the town of Daraya and stormed the base of the army’s 22nd brigade in the town of Otayba of East Ghouta district, 10 kilometers east of Damascus International Airport, where they also captured two military tanks and large quantities of weapons. They stormed 781st air defense base in the suburb of Khan al-Sheeh as well as the Military Security Branch in the town of Sa’saa where they set dozens of detainees free.
The rebels stormed the premises of the Military Housing Foundation and the cement factory in the Sheikh Saad neighborhood of Aleppo city. They also stormed a checkpoint manned by the state security forces near the Deir Azzour Suspension Bridge in the eastern city of Deir Azzour and kept advancing in the Jesser Shughour district in the north-eastern province of Idlib, seizing control of the village of Yaqoubiya and Janoudiya after killing and injuring a number of troops and capturing four military tanks and three armored vehicles.
Activists said that some 84 bodies arrived from Damascus to Latakia airport today. The bodies were then handed over to their families by the Bustan Foundation, a charity organization owned by Assad’s cousin and Millionaire Rami Makhlouf.
Syria’s high judicial council has announced a suspension of prosecutions of opposition members so they can join a national dialogue, state media reported today. Meanwhile, activists said that a senior member of Damascus-based opposition National Development Party, Khalil Mustafa Sayed, was arrested by security forces on Friday.
The Syrian regime rejected accusations of planning to explode a bomb in Mecca during the Haj season in 2012. Imad Al-Haraki, a defected Syria diplomat who worked for the Syrian consulate in Jeddah, told the London-based Al Hayat daily that he had been selected by the Syrian government to carry out the act of terrorism on the ninth day of Dhul Hijja when around three million people gathered at the Arafat Mount, the peak of the pilgrimage rituals.
Regime forces continued their indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas across the country, using cluster, phosphorus, therbombaric and explosive bombs as well as the long-range surface-to-surface missiles, causing extensive material damage and leaving dozens of people dead and wounded.
The continued violence left more than 125 people dead today. Regime forces and loyalist militiamen killed at least 103 people, including 11 children, five women and 23 rebel fighters, whereas the rebels killed more than 25 soldiers and militiamen.
Regime forces killed 33 people in Damascus and its suburbs, nine of whom were shot dead by sniper fire while dozens others were killed and injured due to the violent shelling in the provincial towns of Harran Awamid, Douma and Iribn. They also killed 18 people in Homs including four children, the majority of whom died due to the heavy shelling in the towns of Rastan and Houla. Meanwhile, some 18 people were killed in Aleppo including eight rebel fighters while 11 more people died in Idlib, including three children which were killed by regime shelling in the town of Habeit. Dozens more people were also killed and injured due to the heavy shelling and clashes that took place in various locations around Daraa, Latakia and Hama.
Syrians killed: 64,207
Children killed: 4,303
Females killed: 3,538
Soldiers killed: 6,870
Protesters killed under torture: 1,446
Missing: +60,000
Protesters currently incarcerated: +140,000
Syrians injured: +137,000
Syrian refugees since March: +678,540
Refugees in Turkey: +156,801
Refugees in Lebanon: +223,231
Refugees in Jordan: +204,303
Refugees in Iraq: +77,415
Refugees in Egypt: +14,156
International Reactions
Israel: Iron Dome Deployed in North to Defend Against Syrian WMDs
Israeli PM seeks broad coalition to face Iran, Syria threats
UN humanitarian chief discusses Syria crisis with officials in Damascus
Medvedev: Assad’s chances of retaining power in Syria are shrinking
Selected Media Coverage
Eurasia Review: John Kerry And How He Sees The Conflict In Syria
FRANCE 24: Syria war leaves ghost towns in Kurdish region
Aljazeera: Inside Syria: Who supports who in Syria?
Gulf News: Rapping the revolution: Syrian sets war to music
Videos
Armed Resistance
Maidan, Damascus: Rebel fighters fire locally-made missiles on regime outposts
East Ghouta: Rebel fighters storm the base of the army’s 22nd bridage
Deir Azzour: Rebel fighters storm a military checkpoint mannedby the state security forces, P2, P3
Damascus
Asaali: An unknown woman shot dead by a sniper
Jobar: A man killed under torture
Qdam: Clouds of smoke billow from neighborhood due to shelling and clashes
Hajar Aswad: A baby girl dies due to the shortage of food and media supplies
Damascus suburb
Thyabiya: The devastating aftermath of the rocket shelling
Saqba: Regime warplane drops bombs on the town
Daraya: Clouds of smoke billow from the town due to the heavy shelling
Irbin: Regime shelling destroys schools
Haran Awamid: Regime warplane bombards the town
Aleppo
Dahret Awad: Regime shelling tear a baby girl into pieces
Qaterji: The devastating aftermath of the violent shelling
Aleppo suburb
Byanoun: The remnant of a rocket that landed in the village
Hayan: The aftermath of the violent shelling
Anadan: Houses destroyed due to the indiscriminate shelling
Homs
Khalediya: Clouds of smoke billow from the neighborhood due to the heavy shelling
Jobar: The neighborhood comes under heavy shelling
Rastan: Two men killed by regime forces
Daraa
Bosr Harir: Regime forces step up their attacks on the town
Namar: A rebel fighter killed during clashes with regime forces in Damascus
Central Daraa: Clouds of smoke billow from the city due to the indiscriminate shelling
Hama
Kaferzeita: Residents sift through the rubble in search for trapped victims
Aleppo Road: Protesters chant for freedom and demand the overthrow of the regime
Idlib
Isqat: Funeral procession of one of the fallen heroes who was killed by regime forces
Ma’arret Nouman: Mass destruction in the town due to the indiscriminate shelling
Deir Azzour
Central City: The daily shelling continues
Howiqa: Clouds of smoke billow from the neighborhood due to the indiscriminate shelling
Jubeila: The neighborhood comes under heavy shelling
Demonstrations and Activities Abroad
Canada & US: “I stand in solidarity with the students of Aleppo University
