PHOTO: A rebel tank in the attack on regime’s Mastoumeh camp, south of Idlib
LATEST
- Palestinian Activists: “Situation Unchanged” in Fight with Islamic State in Yarmouk Camp in Southern Damascus
- Rebel Court Issues Order to Deal with Detentions and Looting at “Liberated” Crossing with Jordan
- Report: Islamic State Renews Offensive Against Regime in East Hama
A week after losing Idlib in northwest Syria to rebels, the Assad regime has claimed counter-attacks inside the city.
State news agency SANA said on Saturday, “Many gatherings of terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, and Jund al-Aqsa organizations were directly hit during army operations in various areas in Idlib city, with the terrorists suffering heavy losses.”
There is no confirmation of the assertions, although the Syrian air force has continued its retaliatory bombing of the city.
Instead, reports indicate that the Syrian military is trying to prevent the opposition capture of the armed Mastoumeh camp, south of Idlib.
Both the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra and the independent bloc Faylaq al-Sham have claimed that their fighters are in “large parts” of the camp — a checkpoint with lots of troops and armor — near Mastoumeh village.
Pro-Assad accounts proclaimed that the elite force under Colonel Suhail “The Tiger” Hassan had arrived to defend the camp.
Al-Masdar News said rebels of the Jaish al-Fatah alliance attacked the village and camp from three sides, but claimed that the Syrian Army and militia held their lines. “A military source” said between 50 and 450 rebels were killed.
Palestinian Activists: “Situation Unchanged” in Fight with Islamic State in Yarmouk Camp in Southern Damascus
The Palestinian Network of Civil Society in Syria said on Sunday that the “situation is unchanged” in the fight to prevent the Islamic State’s advance into the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.
Syria Daily, April 4: Islamic State Renews Attack on Yarmouk Camp in Damascus
The Network claims that the Islamic State, supported by Jabhat al-Nusra, has been pushed back and “lost many areas” after reportedly taking most of the camp, home to about 15,000 Palestinian refugees.
However, it says that civilians continue to suffer, with cut-offs of electricity, water, and food.
Palestinian groups and rebels, including the leading faction Jaish al-Islam, are trying to repel the Islamic State. The jihadists are supported not only by pro-Assad Palestinian factions but also shelling and airstrikes by the Syrian military, according to the Network.
The Islamic State entered the camp on Wednesday amid a dispute with a local Palestinian group, Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, that began with the assassination of a Palestinian activist inside the camp on Monday.
Rebels defending the camp:
Rebel Court Issues Order to Deal with Detentions and Looting at “Liberated” Crossing with Jordan
A rebel Joint Court has issued a statement to deal with reports of detentions and looting after the opposition took the Nassib border crossing with Jordan last week.
The court ordered the release of detained drivers and the return of any items taken from the crossing since Thursday. It declared the crossing, which was the regime’s last with Jordan, a “liberated civilian area” under the supervision of a civilian administration from the opposition’s Daraa Province Government. It said the Southern Front bloc will be responsible for security.
Sources told EA that, in the aftermath of the rebel victory, poor civilians and some fighters looted goods from the post — one of the main supply routes into Syria.
Report: Islamic State Renews Offensive Against Regime in East Hama
A pro-Assad site says the Islamic State of Iraq has renewed its offensive against Syrian forces in eastern Hama Province.
Al-Masdar News says the jihadists attacked the villages of Sheikh Helal, Maba’ouji, ‘Aqeerabat, and Deeminah in the Salamiyah area.
The Islamic State has carried out a series of assaults upon the Syrian army and militia in the last three weeks, killing scores of Assad troops. The jihadists are accused of mass killings in villages such as Sheikh Helal and Maba’ouji.
“A military source” said Brigadier General Yahya Baawish, nicknamed “The Wolf”, is now leading the Syrian defenses.
