Syrian Revolution Daily News Round-up Day 695: Wednesday 6-Feb-13

Sirens echoed through Damascus as violence escalate

Rebel fighters firing missiles into regime military posts in the East Ghouta district of Damascus suburb

• Rebel fighters and regime forces fought their heaviest clashes in months inside Damascus.
• Car bomb explosions targeted security compounds in the central town of Palmyra.
• Regime shelling intensified in the rebels-held areas in Damascus.

• Damascus: Rebels storm several military checkpoints in the capital, P2, P3
• Daraa: Rebels inflict losses on regime forces, P2, P3
• Jobar, Damascus: Another massacre committed by the Assad forces

• Total Death Toll: 215
• Opposition Death Toll: 135 including 7 children, 6 women and 60 rebel fighters (Damascus and Suburbs: 60, Aleppo: 36, Homs: 13, Hama: 8, Daraa: 7, Deir Azzour: 6, Idlib: 4, Latakia: 1)
• Regime Soldiers  & Militiamen Death Toll: +70
• Number of areas shelled: +276
• Number of People Wounded: +55
• Number of People Detained: +15
• FSA Key Operations:
  • Stormed several checkpoints in the east and south of Damascus.
  • Shot down a fighter jet and stormed several checkpoints in the Damascus suburb of Adra.
  • Bombed security compounds in the Homs suburb of Palmyra.
  • Attacked the Khalkhala airbase in the suburb of Suweidaa.

Summary of Events

Sounds of sirens and heavy fighting echoed through the capital of Damascus as the rebels and regime forces fought their heaviest clashes in months. With more than 7200 rebel fighters arriving into Damascus from Daraa, the rebels announced the launch of an all-out operation they dubbed “The Grand Epic”. Rebels attacked military checkpoints in the AbbasidsSquare and the nearby districts of Jobar, Qabun and Zablatani in the east as well as in the Yarmouk Refugee Camp, Tadamon, Qadam and Asali in the south.

The rebels stormed the heavily guarded Harmala checkpoint located at the entrance of Jobar neighborhood, killing many regime soldiers and destroying two military tanks. They also stormed the checkpoints of Zamalka Bridge and Kabas in theMutahaliq Janoubi road and bombed a building that houses security forces in the Talatin Street in the Yarmouk refugee Camp.

The rebels shot down a fighter jet and stormed several checkpoints in the Damascus suburb of Adra. Fighting also erupted in the towns of Daraya, Irbin, Thiyabiya and near Damascus airport in the East Ghouta district while for the first time, the rebels attacked regime forces in the heavily guarded town of Kisweh, destroying two military tanks and leaving dozens of regime soldiers dead and wounded.

Two car bomb explosions targeted the Military Security and the State Security branches in the ancient city of Palmyra, causing extensive material damage and leaving dozens of security forces dead and wounded.

Moreover, the rebels destroyed a tower building in the Menneg airbase in the suburb of Aleppo and fought heavy clashes with regime forces in the Aleppo suburb of Sfeera. They also resumed their efforts to take over the military bases of Wadi al-Dayf and Hamdiya in the Idlib suburb of Ma’arrat al-Numan as intense clashes also erupted in Homs, Daraa, Hama and Deir Azzour.

Regime forces continued their attacks on residential areas within the rebels-held towns in Syria, shelling as many as 281locations across the country, 120 of which were pounded with mortar shells, 103 others were shelled with heavy artillery while rockets hit 53 more, amid complete absence of air force due to the bad weather conditions.

Today’s death toll reached 215. Regime forces and loyalist militiamen killed at least 135 people, including seven children, six women and 60 rebel fighters, whereas the rebels killed more than 70 soldiers and militiamen.

Regime shelling killed 22 people, including five women and three children, in the neighborhoods of Jobar, Hajar Aswad and Yarmouk Refugee camp south of Damascus as well as in its provincial town of Kiswa. Some five members of the same family were killed in another shell attack in the Aleppo suburb of al-Bab, meanwhile, dozens more people were killed and injured due to the indiscriminate shelling in Daraa, Deir Azzour, Idlib, Hama and Homs

Videos

Armed Resistance
Adra, Damascus Suburb: Rebel fighters bombard regime bases with rocket launchers
Aleppo Suburb: Rebels use military tanks in shelling the Menneg airbase
Hollok, Aleppo: Heavy clashes erupt between rebel fighters and regime forces
Karnaz, Hama Suburb: Rebels fire missiles on regime forces
Ma’arrat Numan, Idlib Suburb: Rebels attack the Hamdiya and Wadi al-Dayf camps

Damascus           
Zahira: Car bomb blast stirs panic among civilians
Abaseyeen: Cloud of smoke billows from the area due to the the indiscriminate shelling
Barzeh: Mortar attack leaves many children wounded, P2
Hajar Aswad: Mass destruction caused by the indiscriminate shelling

Damascus suburb
Zamalka: A baby girl among many people killed by the indiscriminate shelling, P2
Kiswa: Regime forces backed by military tanks invade the town
Babila: A child severely burnt
Daraya: Regime military tanks fire indiscriminate as they try to enter the town

Aleppo
Salaheddin: The devastating aftermath of the indiscriminate shelling
Aleppo University: Students mourn their slain classmates, P2

Aleppo suburb
Hayan: Funeral procession of a rebel fighter who died during clashes near Menneg airbase
Al-Bab: The devastating aftermath of the violent shelling

Homs
Waer: Mass protest demands the overthrow of the regime
Kaferaaya: Fighting leaves a number of rebel fighters dead
Jobar: Makeshift hospital receives casualties from the village of Kafaraaya

Daraa
Herak: The town comes under heavy rocket shelling
Saida: An unknown body discovered in the town
Maarbeh: Clouds of smoke billow from the town due to the indiscriminate shelling

Hama
Kaferzeta: Activists show the ordnances dropped on them by regime forces
Kafrenbouda: Mass destruction caused by the indiscriminate shelling
Hama Suburb: Citizen journalists report on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions of the displaced people

Idlib
Hantotin: The devastating aftermath of the violent shelling
Central City: Rebels remove bodies from the under the rubble in the central prison
Kafrouma: A rebel fighter killed during clashes with regime forces
Khan Shekhoun: The town comes under heavy shelling

Deir Azzour
Bsaira: Funeral procession of a rebel fighter
Central City: A school destroyed by regime shelling

Demonstrations and Activities Abroad
France: Medical aid convoy to Syria from Syrians in Strasbourg

Source