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===Continued rebel offensive late December===
===Continued rebel offensive late December===
On 24 December, rebel fighters ambushed and killed a Military Intelligence Chief in the predominantly Christian and [[Druze]] district of [[Jaramana]], south east of Damascus.<ref>http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2012/12/25/06/00/syria-s-assad-meets-un-envoy</ref>
On 24 December, rebel fighters ambushed and killed a Military Intelligence Chief in the predominantly Christian and [[Druze]] district of [[Jaramana]], south east of Damascus.<ref>http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2012/12/25/06/00/syria-s-assad-meets-un-envoy</ref>
0n 27 December,Units of the Armed Forces clashed with Terrorists in Daryya city in Damascus countryside and eliminated several of them.An official source told SANA reporter that terrorists Hani al-Najjar ,Alaa Hijazi ,Mohummed Yeiheh ,Abd al-Rahman Zaghloul and Fadi al-Hallaq were identified among the terrorists who were killed during the clashes.
Meanwhile, Units of the armed forces today eliminated armed terrorist groups in Yabroud and its farms in Damascus countryside.<ref>http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/337/2012/12/26/459141.htm</ref>
An official source told SANA reporter that the army killed a number of terrorists in Harasta and Doma.. terrorists Abdul-Rahman al-Birnawi, leader of an armed group affiliated to the so-called "Liwaa al-Islam", Andul-Rahma al-Toukhi, Basam al-Dora, Nour al-Din Amin, Ramez Qasem, Mohammad Khaled Amer and Fahid Fida were identified among the killed.<ref>http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/337/2012/12/26/459141.htm</ref>


==Strategic analysis==
==Strategic analysis==

Revision as of 16:16, 27 December 2012

Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–present)
Part of the Syrian civil war
Date15 November 2012 – ongoing
(12 years, 2 months, 1 week and 1 day)
Location
Damascus, Syria
Result

Ongoing

  • FSA takes control of Douma, Harasta, Arbin and Ghouta; the army attacks the suburbs and outskirts.
  • Fighting in most of Damascus southern and eastern outskirts.
Belligerents

Syrian National Council

Mujahideen

Syria Syrian government

PFLP – GC[3]
Commanders and leaders
Khaled al-Haboush
(Damascus Military Council commander)
Abu Bashir al-Ajweh †[4]
(al-Ghouta Martyr's brigade commander)
Anas Mohammed Al Baghdadi †[5]
(Rakan Al Dine Brigade commander)
Saari Fashikou †[6]
(Member of Damascus Military Council)		 Bashar Al-Assad
Mohammad al-Shaar (WIA)
(Minister of the Interior)
Issam Zahreddine[7]
(Republican Guard Brigade 105 commander)
Ahmed Jibril (PFLP – GC)[8]
Strength

Unknown number of FSA fighters

750–1,000 al-Nusra fighters[9]		 5,000 soldiers, 200 tanks
Casualties and losses
540+ fighters killed[10] 370+ soldiers killed[10]

The Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–present) (Template:Lang-ar) refers to that part of the Syrian civil war consisting of military conflict in the Rif Dimashq Governorate (which surrounds Damascus) since November 2012, consisting of attacks by rebels and the Syrian Army. Thomson Reuters described rebels as "ramping up attacks on Damascus" in late November[11] and BBC News described the 29 November government fighting as "an unprecedented offensive against rebel-held districts in the east of the city".[12]

Background

Main articles: 2011–2012 Damascus clashes § September/October clashes, and Rif Dimashq offensive (August–October 2012)

In September 2012 during the Syrian civil war, rebels carried out bomb attacks against military institutions in Damascus, killing 40 to 60 people including high-ranking government officials,[13][14][15][16] while the Syrian Army killed 40 cilivians near Damascus[17] and 16 in Damascus itself.[18] In October, rebels attacked governmental sites in Damascus,[19] captured an air force base[20] and shot down a military helicopter[21] in the eastern Damascus suburbs. Clashes continued throughout October, with deaths of rebels, government forces and civilians.[22][23][24] Rebels captured two Syrian Army checkpoints in the Damascus suburb of Harasta and on 25[25] and 26[26] October, the Syrian Army attacked Harasta with tank shells and rockets.

Early/mid November clashes

On 31 October the Free Syrian Army announced that they had helped to form a brigade made up of Anti-Assad Palestinians, (Storm Brigade), who have been armed to take control of Yarmouk camp from the Pro-Assad Palestinan group, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. The PFLP-GC leader Ahmed Jibril and his men have been accused of harassing the camps residents and attacking FSA fighters.[27] Many Palestinan men from the camp also joined other FSA units and fought with them in the Damascus districts of Tadamon and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad.[28]

In the week following the 30 October rebel assassination of high ranking Syrian Air Force General Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi,[29] rebel fighters engaged in more assassinations of high profile regime figures. On the 6 November, rebel gunmen killed Mohammed Osama Laham, the brother of the Syrian parliament Speaker as he drove to work.[30] Then on 7 November a Syrian Judge was assassinated in a residential area of Damascus when explosives planted under his car were remotely detonated.[31]

That same day, rebels launched a large operation in Central Damascus. Firing mortars into the predominantly Alawite Mezzah 86 district near the Presidential Palace. Hitting the Prime Minister's offices, and Mezzah's military airport, killing 3 civilians and injuring 12 others. A spokesperson for the Revolutionary Council in Damascus, Susan Ahmed, described the operation as "a countdown", and also stated "It seems something serious is going on there now and things are going out of control. The regime cannot control Damascus anymore".[32]

On 12 November fierce clashes occurred between rebel and government forces in the East Damascus suburb of Ghuta, resulting in 10 dead soldiers and 1 rebel.[33]

On 17 November a military helicopter was shot down in the suburbs of Damascus.[34]

Late November/early December

Thomson Reuters described rebels as "ramping up attacks on Damascus" in late November.[11] On 19 November, rebels seized the headquarters of an army battalion near the district of Hajar al-Aswad and the southern gate of Damascus, making it the nearest military base to Central Damascus to fall under rebel control.[35] On 25 November, rebels seized control of the Marj al-Sultan military airbase in Eastern Ghouta after a battle in which two Syrian Army helicopters were shot down.[36]

On 28 November, rebel forces started attacking the Damascus International Airport in an attempt to take a more strategic approach by seizing important targets. Taking control of the airport would weaken the government's air offensive.[37] On 29 November, rebels stated that they had blocked access to the airport.[11] The Ministry of Information said that access to the airport was safe and clear of rebel activity. Emirates and EgyptAir suspended their flights to Damascus.[11] BBC News described the 29 November government fighting as "an unprecedented offensive against rebel-held districts in the east of the city".[12] The main Internet gateways to/from Syria were cut off at around 12:00 to 13:00 UTC+02:00 (local time).[12][38]

On 1 December, clashes occurred in Arbin (east of Damascus) and government forces shelled Zabadani, leaving many people wounded, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Government forces tried to secure the airport highway by fighting in Mliha, as part of a strategy to "secure a wider perimeter around Damascus" to prevent rebels from entering Damascus.[39] Agence France-Presse suggested that the military aim was to make negotiations with the rebels easier.[39]

Intense fighting between rebels and government forces and bombardment by government forces continued to 2 December in and around the highway to the airport. EgyptAir announced on 2 December that it would reopen flights to the airport on 3 December.[40] On 2 December, the Syrian army bombarded rebel-held suburbs around Damascus with fighter aircraft and rockets, killing at least ten rebels and wounding dozens in an offensive to stop rebels closing in on Damascus. The Syrian army entered part of Daraya where rebels had launched mortars into the city. The Army had entered one side of the town but rebels were still in control of the rest of the area and were fighting back.[41]

Syrian army checkpoint in Douma.

On 3 December, the Syrian Army continued firing artillery and using fighter jets against the rebel-held areas near Damascus in order to protect the capital.[42]

On 4 December Syrian state television claimed that 29 students and a teacher were killed by terrorist mortar fire in the suburbs of Damascus.[43]

On 5 December, fighting took place near Aqraba military airport (near Damascus International Airport),[44] with the Free Syrian Army claiming to "secure control" of the military airport itself, according to Al Arabiya as cited by NOW Lebanon.[45] According to NOW Lebanon, rebels also took over the Eastern Ghouta airbase[45] for a second time since the first takeover on 25 November.[36]

On 7 December, the rebels claimed that they were still blockading most access to the Damascus International Airport. Damascus Military Council spokesperson Nabil al-Amir stated that the rebels had "waited two weeks for the airport to be emptied of most civilians and airlines" and that as of 7 December, the airport was "a military zone" and that "civilians who approach it now do so at their own risk."[46] Flights by foreign airlines to the airport remained suspended.[46] A governmental spokesperson stated that the Syrian Army was "driving rebels back from positions in the suburbs and outskirts of Damascus".[46] On 8 December, the airport road was blocked at one point.[47]

By 9 December, the military counter-offensive was seen as successful in relieving the rebel pressure on the capital. Patrick Cockburn writing in the The Independent stated that the Syrian Army had strengthened its control of Damascus by shifting forces from the Syrian countryside to Damascus. A diplomat contacted by Cockburn stated, "In private, FSA commanders admitted that their attacks in Damascus had not gone as planned and they suffered losses, but this does not mean that they will not try again."[47] Witnesses reported seeing bodies of dead rebels and soldiers lying beside the airport road. A rebel fighter interviewed by The New York Times said that the attack on the airport was a diversion to allow fighters, who were attempting to seize control of the road from Damascus to the northeast, to escape after suffering heavy casualties, due to their action not being well thought out. According to him, the resulting Syrian Army counter-offensive resulted in an "unbelievable" level of violence.[48]

On December 15, a Rebel spokesperson for the Ababil Horan and Eastern Ghouta Brigades claimed that the FSA attacked a meeting in Damascus that led to the killing of "a number of the heads of operations" in Damascus and its suburbs, and that they now have the ability to know the movements and meetings of other Senior heads of operations in Damascus.[49]

Yarmouk camp fighting

Main article: Yarmouk camp fighting (December 2012)

On December 16 Syrian Army jets bombed the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk, for the first time since uprising began. Activists reported at least two rockets fired and dozens killed as mosque sheltering refugees from embattled areas of the capital was hit.[50]

On Dec 17, rebels claimed that many PFLP-GC fighters who were fighting in the camp defected to the rebels, while their leader, Ahmad Jibril, and the remaining fighters joined government troops outside the camp. Rebel forces later that day gained full control of the Yarmouk camp as well as another Palestinian camp with assistance from anti Assad Palestinian factions, pushing PFLP-GC fighters out.[51][52] Government forces had surrounded the camp, however, as many refugees fled.[53]

On 19 December, fresh fighting on the outskirts of Yarmouk killed a civilian, and 4 PFLP-GC members.[54]

Continued rebel offensive late December

On 24 December, rebel fighters ambushed and killed a Military Intelligence Chief in the predominantly Christian and Druze district of Jaramana, south east of Damascus.[55] 0n 27 December,Units of the Armed Forces clashed with Terrorists in Daryya city in Damascus countryside and eliminated several of them.An official source told SANA reporter that terrorists Hani al-Najjar ,Alaa Hijazi ,Mohummed Yeiheh ,Abd al-Rahman Zaghloul and Fadi al-Hallaq were identified among the terrorists who were killed during the clashes. Meanwhile, Units of the armed forces today eliminated armed terrorist groups in Yabroud and its farms in Damascus countryside.[56] An official source told SANA reporter that the army killed a number of terrorists in Harasta and Doma.. terrorists Abdul-Rahman al-Birnawi, leader of an armed group affiliated to the so-called "Liwaa al-Islam", Andul-Rahma al-Toukhi, Basam al-Dora, Nour al-Din Amin, Ramez Qasem, Mohammad Khaled Amer and Fahid Fida were identified among the killed.[57]

Strategic analysis

Holding Damascus was considered crucial for the government, which kept its highest concentration of troops and its most loyal and best-trained units in and around the city. According to the New York Times, rebels were unlikely to be able to overrun Damascus quickly, but the fighting in Rif Dimashq, especially at the airport, had a profound psychological effect on government supporters, making them feel trapped, and forced the Syrian Army to shift resources from other areas to defend Damascus.[58]

Damascus residents described an atmosphere of tension and fear for any more rebel advances. Government checkpoints were also so numerous that it was difficult to travel anywhere without passing through one. Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies described the fighting as "part of the strategy of encirclement of the city. The rebels are making a very strong point: that they can go after anything that is seen as critical infrastructure." He expected that the government would be able to reopen the airport and the airport road, but that "the cost of doing so [would] increase over time."[58]

References

  1. ^ Yezdani, İpek (2 September 2012). "Rebels fighting against al-Assad rule fragmented, disorganized in Syria" (PDF). Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  2. ^ "BBC Arabic: Groups affiliated to al-Qaeda carry out acts of terror". Champress. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  3. ^ AFP (17 December). "Syria hits back at UN over Palestinian refugees". Syria. NOW. Retrieved 17 December 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  36. ^ a b http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20487492
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  39. ^ a b http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/world/regime-forces-hammer-damascus-outskirts/story-fnd14032-1226528448648 Regime forces hammer rebels on Damascus outskirts 2 December 2012
  40. ^ Solomon, Erika (2012-12-02). "Syrian army pounds rebel strongholds around capital". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2012-12-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  43. ^ Surk, Barbara (4 December 2012). "Syrian rebels kill 29 students in attack on school near Damascus". ABC News. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
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  48. ^ Fighting Drives an Old Sense of Peace From Damascus
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  56. ^ http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/337/2012/12/26/459141.htm
  57. ^ http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/337/2012/12/26/459141.htm
  58. ^ a b "Syrian Forces, Seeking to Keep Hold on Capital, Strike Rebels on Its Outskirts". New York Times. November 30, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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