Jihadist-Led Offensive in Syria's Hama Advances
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syrian jihadists and allied rebels advanced against government forces in central Hama province on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
The Britain-based group said the jihadists and allied fighters have taken 11 towns and villages from government troops since they began the surprise offensive on Tuesday.
It reported heavy fighting in the north and northeast of the province, with government air strikes targeting areas captured in recent days.
Overnight and into Thursday morning, three villages fell from government control, with the advancing forces nearing the town of Maan.
Syrian government forces seized Maan in 2014, after Islamist fighters killed at least 25 members of the Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
Hama province is of strategic importance to Assad's government, separating opposition forces in Idlib from Damascus to the south and the regime's coastal heartlands to the west.
The offensive is being spearheaded by the Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is dominated by jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
In addition to 11 villages and towns, rebels and jihadists have captured several government checkpoints and part of the road between provincial capital Hama and the town of Mhardeh, the Observatory said.
The monitor said the opposition forces were now around four kilometres (2.5 miles) from government-held Hama city.
An AFP correspondent in northern Hama said government war planes were circling overhead and carrying out strikes on areas captured during the offensive.
He said the sound of fighting could be heard even at a distance, and small groups of people could be seen fleeing the violence, most of them travelling in cars.
Aid group Save the Children said Wednesday at least 10,000 people had fled their homes in the Hama area in the past 24 hours.
The violence comes as UN-brokered peace talks are set to resume in Switzerland between government officials and opposition representatives.
More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced by Syria's conflict since it began in March 2011.
23 March 2017, 16:35
22
If executing civilians is "advancing", I guess so. But militarily, they will get crushed.
23 March 2017, 18:07
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More lies by Mini. The rumor about rebels executing civilians originated from trash collection website Almasdar and denied even by the governor of Hama. And the majority of areas were liberates by FSA and not Hay'at Tahrir Al Sham and specifically Jaish Al Izza and Jaish Idlib Al Hurt. HTS is primarily on the eastern front from Maardes north, Ahrar Asham on the north west and the FSA is on then Southern and South West front which saw very rapid advances yesterday.
23 March 2017, 18:14
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And the responsibility is roughly divided. However, you will see Jaish idlib Al hurrnin fighting in north east of the advance pocket and they are the ones that stopped a regime counterattack on Kawkab (after its capture today).
23 March 2017, 18:15
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Salafidemocrat, spare us your moderate mask of Al Qaeda.
FSA or Nusra or whatever you call them, just massacred an Alawite village in this attack.
Don't come here and whine, when you will be met with waves of fire on your towns next.
It will be my pleasure to see you salafis die, and this attack will fail as did the unsuccessful attack in Jober.
23 March 2017, 18:35
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let's not forget that the regime you are supporting killed tortured kidnapped hundreds of lebanese...erased villages, stole the lebanese economy...massacred lebanese soldiers...
but what to expect from subhuman traitors like you...
23 March 2017, 18:44
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I support the regime over ISIS and FSA/Nusra anytime yes.
Assad is better than them, and by saying he is worse makes you a complete Salafi and a Da3ish supporter.
23 March 2017, 18:45
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The takfiri rebels from Syria killd Lebanese soldiers, and killed Lebanese citizens in Beirut bombings, but that doesn't seem to matter to you salafi "peace"
23 March 2017, 18:49
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Mystic ... stop lying and making up trash. The reports of civilian killings in this offensive by the rebels have been propagated by trash site Al masdar and are not corroborated by anyone and even denied by the governor. Monsters like you are manufacturing these atrocities to justify their daily massacres against civilians in rebel cities which are being pummeled by the Russian airforce. When a credible organization or outlet and not by a trash collection site report on this, come back.
23 March 2017, 18:49
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As for 2013 Latikya offensive, it is true that the hard-line wing of the Al Nusra (that later became ISIS) executed 67 Alewite civilians and in 2014, Jund Al Aqsa (which just few weeks ago slaughtered close to 200 captured FSA and Nusra members) committed a massacre of 25 Alewites in Maan. All of these have been reported on extensively and condemned by multiple human rights organizations. These are the same organizations that tell us about the ghastly atrocities committed by the regime and its responsibility for well over 90% of the extra judicial killings.
While I support bringing to justice anyone accused of crimes against humanity, you openly support the slaughter of civilians. You should be ashamed of yourself
23 March 2017, 18:53
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yes miss tic... call me salafi if you want, if it takes off your frustration...
your binary mind cannot do more. life is simplistic with you one neurone idiots: if you are against assad it means you are salafi...
so keep living in your stupid world filled with hatred and frustration.
you do not care if this regime killed lebanese people and hurt lebanon which makes you no better than any salafi or zionist.... as you all think in the same binary mode... LOL
23 March 2017, 18:56
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You are a salafi propagandist, I will remember next time you get bombed in Idlib, that will be good.
ISIS and Nusra and FSA all the same Salafi scum, and you will all have to die the same way.
America is not going to protect you, America will stay with the Kurds it seems.
23 March 2017, 19:05
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if you are a fanatic hezbi projecting yourself in all the countries your milita is involved, believing you are fighting with them, does not mean everyone is like you...
so isis daesh whatever islamist you associate me with does not concern me the least = it is your remedy to let go of the frustration you have inside yourself, find someone to shout at.
you perfectly illustrate the binary mind i ve been talking about... LOL
23 March 2017, 19:14
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Mystic ... You keep proving your self to be a liar and a person without conscience. You propagandise for the mass slaughter of civilians without any shred of self doubt - the trait of a radical fascist. If anything, you remind me of ISIS supporters who think that they own the ultimate truth while repeating a tired old dogma to justify the immoral.
23 March 2017, 21:36
21
they already got crushed and all the gains they made in hama and damascus have already been reversed. the news in the article is outdated.
