DEVELOPING: 58+ Killed in Regime’s Latest Chemical Attacks (see separate feature)
LATEST:
- Rebels Retake Village in Northern Hama Province
- Report: 1,134 Civilians Killed in March
- Video: The National Hospital in Idlib Province Knocked Out by Pro-Assad Strikes
Scores — and possibly hundreds — of pro-Assad airstrikes were carried out across Syria on Monday, as pro-regime forces tried to reclaim territory in Hama Province and in and near Damascus.
Some activists reported more than 200 airstrikes on northern Hama alone, including sustained bombing of the town of Halfaya, while 66 were recorded in Jobar in northeastern Damascus and nearby suburbs by Monday afternoon. There were also ongoing attacks on parts of opposition-held Idlib Province in northwest Syria.
Activists noted that Russia — nominally a guarantor of a December 30 ceasefire — must have been involved in the strikes, given the number of attacks and some of the munitions used.
In northern Hama, pro-Assad forces are trying to retake all of the territory lost in a rebel offensive lost two weeks ago. On Monday, they occupied the village of Maardas, leaving the town of Souran as the major position still held by the rebels after their attacks.
The regime is also trying to regain the initiative in Jobar, where fighting has been ongoing since 2012, following a rebel offensive that reached as far as Abbassiyeen Square before being pushed back. The pro-Assad forces would like to renew their efforts to assault remaining opposition-held suburbs in the East Ghouta area, such as Barzeh, Qaboun, and Tishreen, interrupted by the rebel moves in and near Jobar two weeks ago.
The Local Coordinations Committee recorded 38 deaths in and near Damascus, seven in Hama Province, and seven in Idlib Province on Monday.
At least 22 people were killed and scores injured after four raids on a crowded district in Douma, the main opposition center northeast of the capital. Many other bodies were still under the rubble, rescuers said.
At leave five people died in Saqba, east of Damascus, when the market square was bombed.
The Syrian army said it was hitting missile launchers and killing scores of “terrorists”. The military also wants to destroy tunnels in suburbs, such as Barzeh and Qaboun, used to move personnel and essential goods between Damascus and the East Ghouta towns.
“Today the regime shelled and bombed….They have not left a place they have not hit. They want to get the tunnels,” said Abu Omar, a commander in the rebel faction Failaq al-Rahman.
Rebels Retake Village in Northern Hama Province
Rebels, led by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham bloc, have retaken the village of Maardas in northern Hama Province, 24 hours after losing it to a pro-Assad counter-offensive.
The pro-Assad forces had appeared to be on the verge of reclaiming all territory lost in a rebel offensive from two weeks ago before today’s reversal.
#Hama: Tiger Forces and Hezbollah fleeing en masse #Maardes after 9h of clashes with Rebels. pic.twitter.com/YurDkRYITY
— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) April 4, 2017
Report: 1,134 Civilians Killed in March
A total of 1,134 civilians were killed in Syria in March, according to a report from the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Regime forces, Russian warplanes, and Iranian-led militias were responsible for the majority of the killing, carrying out more than 90% of attacks causing fatalities.
Regime attacks killed 417 civilians, including 61 children and 46 women. Another 19 died under torture in regime prisons. At least 224 civilians, including 151 children and 42 women, were killed in Russian bombing.
About 260 civilians, including 70 children and 34 women, were killed by US bombing in northern Syria. The Islamic State killed 110, including 19 children and 7 women, while the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces killed 11.
The SNHR also listed 84 civilians, including 6 children and 9 women, who were killed in unattributed bombings or drowned trying to reach Europe.
The report says the toll is conservative, given the difficulty on obtaining information on many victims of pro-Assad or ISIS attacks.
The SNHR has documented almost 207,000 civilian deaths since the start of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.
Video: The National Hospital in Idlib Province Knocked Out by Pro-Assad Strikes
A report from the national hospital in Maarat al-Num’an in Idlib Province, knocked out of service by pro-Assad strikes on Sunday.
Ten people were injured, including a member of hospital staff.
The White Helmets civil defense organization indicated the strikes were by the Russians, with three attacks using thermobaric bombs.
S. #Idlib: main Maaret Al-Numan Hospital out of servive after being deliberately targeted by 3 airstrikes, incl. with a bunker-buster bomb. pic.twitter.com/joUll1EPi1
— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) April 3, 2017
TOP PHOTO: Smoke rises from pro-Assad attacks on the East Ghouta area near Damascus on Monday