Northern Homs offensive (April–May 2018)

Last updated
Northern Homs offensive (April–May 2018)
Part of the Syrian Civil War
DateOffensive:
15–20 April 2018
(5 days)
Rebel surrender and withdrawal:
29 April – 16 May 2018
(2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
Northern Homs Governorate and southern Hama Governorate, western Syria
Result

Decisive Syrian Army and allies victory

  • Syrian Army and allies regain full control of the northern Homs pocket, including Rastan, Talbiseh, and Houla [1]
Belligerents

Flag of Syria.svg Syrian Arab Republic

Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg Central Region Command [2]   White flag icon.svg

Flag of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.svg Tahrir al-Sham [3]   White flag icon.svg
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Syria.svg Maj. Gen. Muhamamd Khaddour [4]

Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg Col. Ibrahim Bakkar [2]
(head of Central Region Command)
Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg Col. Omar Melhem  White flag icon.svg [5]
(Tawhid Army commander)
Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg Lt. Col. Talal al-Mansour [6]
(4th Legion commander)

Contents

Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg Ahmed Abu Zeid [7]
(Homs Army commander)
Units involved

Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces.svg Syrian Armed Forces

Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg Central Region Command [2]

Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
21+ civilians killed [12] [13]

The Northern Homs offensive was launched by the Syrian Armed Forces against the rebel pocket in the northern Homs Governorate and the southern Hama Governorate on 15 April 2018. It came after the defeat of the rebel forces in the final government offensive against rebels in eastern Ghouta. Following negotiations with Syrian and Russian military officials, rebels surrendered the northern Homs pocket on 2 May, [14] and those who refused to stay were fully evacuated on 16 May. Subsequently, the Syrian government regained full control of the area. [1]

Background

Offensive

On 15 April, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched an offensive in the northern Homs rebel pocket following the failure of rebel groups to abide by the government's terms in previous negotiations. The SAA targeted rebel positions in the southwestern part of Salamiyah District. [15] On the following day, the SAA advanced from the recently captured village of Salim to the nearby Hamrat. [16] [17] [18]

On 17 April, rebel forces in and around the city of Rastan called for an urgent meeting with Russian military negotiators to organize a new settlement agreement. Sources reported that the rebel delegation would seek an agreement on reconciliation similar to what Jaysh al-Islam fighters in Douma received, so that only Russian and Syrian military police will enter the dedicated settlements instead of regular Syrian military forces. [19] On the evening of the same day, rebels captured the village of Qubbat al-Kurdi. Rebel forces also had reportedly cut off drinking water supplies to the Salamiyah region. [12]

On 18 April, a four-day ceasefire was announced after the rebel delegation met with Russian military police at the Dar al-Kabira crossing in northern Homs. [20] However, the rebel delegation denied that an agreement was reached. [21]

Rebel surrender and evacuation

In the morning of 29 April, more than 70 airstrikes and 500 artillery shells hit Rastan, Talbiseh, and other rebel-held towns in the northern Homs pocket. At least 7 civilians were killed and 46 wounded by the bombings. In the afternoon, rebel representatives resumed negotiations with a Russian delegation, and the bombings were paused. The negotiations resulted in another temporary ceasefire agreement, and the SAA issued an ultimatum to the rebels, giving them between 48 and 72 hours to surrender and accept evacuation with the threat of launching a military offensive if they refused. [13]

On 2 May, the rebel delegation reached an agreement to hand over their heavy weapons, withdraw to either the greater Idlib area or the Turkish-occupied northern Aleppo Governorate, and allow the government to take over the pocket. [14] However, the 4th Legion, based in Taldou, rejected the agreement. [22] Demonstrations were held in Rastan both supporting and opposing the government and the rebels. [23]

On 7 May, the evacuation of an estimated 2,900 rebel fighters and civilians by buses, under the supervision of Russian military police, [24] began at a departure point in Rastan. The majority of civilians in the area chose to stay, and were given six months to reconcile with the government. [25] On 9 May, three convoys of buses carrying around 8,000 people evacuated from northern Homs and southern Damascus were stopped at a crossing near the city of al-Bab. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent coordinated the arrival of the convoys with Turkish forces, but the buses were stuck due to lack of coordination between rebels and Turkish officials, poor logistics, and Turkish refusal to allow entry. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army of Revolutionaries</span> Multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition

The Army of Revolutionaries, or Jaysh al-Thuwar, is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Zabadani (2015)</span> Military offensive

The Battle of Zabadani (2015) started in early July 2015, during the Syrian Civil War, as a military offensive launched by the Syrian Army, and Hezbollah to capture the rebel-held town of Al-Zabadani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liwa al-Quds</span> Palestinian militia (brigade) in the Syrian Civil War

Liwa al-Quds or the Jerusalem Brigade is a predominantly Palestinian militia (brigade) that operates as a part of pro-Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in 2013 by the engineer Muhammad al-Sa'eed. The fighters who call themselves the 'Syrian Arab Army Fedayeen' are active in Aleppo, distributed on the periphery of the camp and south of al-Nayrab military and civil airport. They are also present in Aziza village, Sheikh Latfi, and around the Air Intelligence building and the Greatest Messenger mosque. The group is composed of predominantly Sunni Palestinians from the al-Nayrab district as well as the former refugee camp Handarat. Liwa al-Quds is believed to be the largest loyalist auxiliary force operating in Aleppo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orontes River offensive</span>

The Orontes River offensive was a military operation launched by the Syrian Arab Army against rebels during the Syrian Civil War on the administrative border of the Hama Governorate and Homs Governorate, along the Orontes River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Rahman Legion</span>

The al-Rahman Legion is a Syrian rebel group that operated in Eastern Ghouta, in the outskirts of Damascus, and in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains. It was the main rebel group in Jobar, and was backed by Qatar. The group's leader is Abdul al-Nasr Shamir, a captain from rural Homs who defected from the Syrian Army in early 2012. The Legion has been described as an "Islamist" or as a non-jihadi/non-Salafi "political Islamist" organisation. It describes itself as "a revolutionary military entity aiming for the downfall of the Syrian regime," but does not seek to turn Syria into an Islamic state. In 2016, it was described as "one of the oldest standing opposition factions in Damascus and maintains high levels of local legitimacy and support." Under a surrender agreement, over 5,000 of its fighters and associated civilians left Damascus for northwestern Syria in March 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018)</span> 2018 military offensive

The Rif Dimashq offensive , code-named Operation Damascus Steel, was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in February 2018 in a bid to capture the rebel-held eastern Ghouta suburb during the Syrian Civil War. East Ghouta, a pocket of towns and farms, had been under government siege since 2013 and had been a major rebel stronghold in the vicinity of the capital of Damascus. According to the United Nations, nearly 400,000 people live in East Ghouta.

The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from September to December 2016. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hama offensive (March–April 2017)</span> Military offensive

The Hama offensive was a military offensive launched by Syrian rebel groups led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) north of the city of Hama, as part of the Syrian Civil War. The offensive began on 21 March 2017, and the rebels aimed to recapture areas recaptured by the Syrian Armed Forces in the 2016 Hama offensive, as well as pushing into Hama city. The offensive was coordinated with rebel forces in Damascus' eastern suburbs, who launched their own operation in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war</span>

The early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war lasted from late July 2011 to April 2012, and was associated with the rise of armed oppositional militias across Syria and the beginning of armed rebellion against the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic. Though armed insurrection incidents began as early as June 2011 when rebels killed 120–140 Syrian security personnel, the beginning of organized insurgency is typically marked by the formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on 29 July 2011, when a group of defected officers declared the establishment of the first organized oppositional military force. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, the rebel army aimed to remove Bashar al-Assad and his government from power.

The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from May to August 2017. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Syria campaign</span> Military operation of the Syrian Army

The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam," or "Lavender," was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture the strategic oil town of Al-Sukhnah, and besiege and capture 11,000 square kilometers of ISIL territory in central Syria, after which the Syrian Army would advance towards Deir ez-Zor, and lift the three-year ISIL siege of the government's enclave in the city. Afterwards, the Syrian Army advanced towards the Islamic State's then-capital of Mayadin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hama offensive (September 2017)</span> Military offensive

The Hama offensive , code-named Oh Servants of God, Be Steadfast, was a military offensive launched by rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) north of the city Hama, as part of the Syrian Civil War.

The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to April 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Eastern Ghouta</span> 2013–2018 Syrian siege east of Damascus

The siege of Eastern Ghouta was a siege that was laid by Syrian Government forces in April 2013, to the area in eastern Ghouta held by anti-government forces since November 2012, during the Syrian civil war. The cities and villages under siege were Douma, Mesraba, Arbin, Hamouria, Saqba, Modira, Eftreis, Jisrin, as well as suburbs of Damascus Beit Sawa, Harasta, Zamalka, Ein Tarma, Hizzah and Kafr Batna. By 2016, around 400,000 people were trapped in an area just over 100 square kilometres in size, thus with a population density around 4,000 inhabitants/km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Damascus offensive (March 2018)</span> Military operation

The Southern Damascus offensive started on 12 March 2018, when ISIL began attacking rebel positions in the al-Qadam neighborhood of southern Damascus as they were evacuating. The rebel pocket in al-Qadam had been surrounded on one side by government forces and on the other by ISIL. On 10 March, ISIL threatened to kill any rebels that evacuate from the area after the Syrian government gave the rebels 48 hours to surrender the district and evacuate. Following news of the upcoming rebel evacuation from al-Qadam, ISIL forces attacked the rebels on 12 March and captured 25 percent of the neighborhood. The next day, around 300 rebel fighters and their family members were evacuated from al-Qadam to rebel territory in Idlib province. After the evacuation, government troops took control of 70 percent of the neighborhood, while the remaining 30 was under IS control. During the fighting, government air-strikes were conducted against ISIL in Al-Hajar al-Aswad and al-Qadam. While the clashes were taking place in Qadam, rebel groups attempted to break through ISIL lines in Yarmouk but were repelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Damascus offensive (April–May 2018)</span> Military operation

The Southern Damascus offensive began on 19 April 2018 when the Syrian Armed Forces began to clear an enclave held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in southern Damascus in the Yarmouk Camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Qalamoun offensive (April 2018)</span> Military operation

On 17 April 2018, rebel groups in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains pocket, led by Jaysh al-Islam, reached a surrender agreement with the Syrian Army and Russia. The agreement came after 2 weeks of negotiations that began with a Syrian Army ultimatum on 3 April. Around 1,500 rebels handed over heavy weapons and equipment to the Syrian Army, and were evacuated by 124 buses in 4 convoys to Turkish-held areas in the northern Aleppo Governorate along with their families, totaling around 5,000 people. On 25 April, the last batch of rebels and their families left the eastern Qalamoun pocket, and the region came under full Syrian government control.

The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from May to August 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Northern Homs</span> 2010s siege by the Syrian government

The siege of Northern Homs was a siege lasting six years, by the Syrian government in the northern part of the Homs Governorate during the Syrian civil war, as a result of the rebel capture of Rastan and surrounding areas in 2012, the rebel-held pocket in northern Homs was fully taken by the Syrian government in 2018 after clearing opposition held areas around the capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern Syria offensive (April–August 2019)</span> Syrian government military operation against rebels

The 2019 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed "Dawn of Idlib", was a military operation launched on 30 April 2019 by the Syrian Armed Forces and its allies against rebel groups in northwestern Syria during the Syrian civil war in a region known as "Greater Idlib", consisting of northwest Hama, southern Idlib and northeastern Latakia provinces. The government's main objectives were to open the M5 highway and to expel non-compliant militant groups, particularly the internationally proscribed al-Qaeda-linked group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), from the 15–20 km demilitarized zone demarcated by Turkey and the Russian Federation at Sochi in 2018. The offensive was seen by both parties as crucial to the outcome of the war.

References

  1. 1 2 "Syrian rebels pull out of their last besieged area". Reuters . 16 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Central region commander survives assassination attempt north of Homs". Enab Baladi . 20 April 2018.
  3. ""Liberation Sham" Tdk sites of the regime north of Homs .. And suffered losses (Photos)". El-Dorar al-Shamia. 17 April 2018.
  4. "Breaking: Syrian Army scores major advance against Rastan militants, captures 5 towns in southeast Hama". 16 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  5. Bassem Mroue (19 July 2018). "Under Assad's grip, uneasy co-existence with Syria ex-rebels". Associated Press .
  6. 1 2 "That's the Results of attack by rebels on Syrian regime south of Hama, Commander of 4th Corps illustrates". Syria Call. 18 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 Mais Noor Aldeen (21 April 2018). "Free Syrian Army repulses Syrian government forces' attempt to advance in southeast of Hama". SMART News Agency .
  8. "Syrian Army captures six towns in southeast Hama - map". 17 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  9. Talal Kharrat (21 April 2018). "Syrian Opposition Foil A Regime Offensive Northern Homs". Qasioun News Agency. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  10. "Shelling and clashes south of Hama and northern Homs". Enab Baladi. 16 April 2018.
  11. "Military factions launch a joint operation south of Hama and control checkpoints after sudden attacks". El-Dorar al-Shamia. 18 April 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Regime halts attack in Homs as rebels threaten to cut off water supply". Zaman al-Wasl. 18 April 2018.
  13. 1 2 Alaa Nassar; Alice Al Maleh (30 April 2018). "Rebel-held north Homs sees heaviest bombardment in weeks ahead of ceasefire negotiations". Syria Direct .
  14. 1 2 "Rebels agree withdrawal deal for enclave near Syria's Homs". 3 May 2018.
  15. "Breaking: Syrian Army kicks off new operation in east Hama". 15 April 2018. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  16. "Syrian Army scores new advance in southern Hama after launching big offensive near Salamiyah". 16 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  17. "Map update: Syrian Army's Rastan offensive sees militants driven back near Homs-Hama border". 16 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  18. "VIDEO: Syrian Army hurls a torrent of tank, artillery fire at Rastan rebels to pave way for recent advance near Homs-Hama border". 16 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  19. "Breaking: Syria's Rastan rebels call for emergency meeting with Russian negotiators to organize reconciliation deal - details". 17 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  20. "4-Days Seasefire agreement between Homs & Hama Negotiating Commission with Russians". Syria Call. 18 April 2018.
  21. "Homs & Mama Negotiating Commission denies reaching an agreement with Russians". Syria Call. 20 April 2018.
  22. "Rebels in northern Homs refuse Russian 'surrender' deal". Zaman al-Wasl. 2 May 2018.
  23. Joško Barić. "Syrian War Daily – 2nd of May 2018".
  24. "Syria war: Rebels leave last major besieged enclave". BBC . 7 May 2018.
  25. "Rebel forces and civilians begin evacuating besieged Homs countryside: 'We don't want another Ghouta'". Syria Direct. 7 May 2018.
  26. Alaa Nassar; Avery Edelman (9 May 2018). "Thousands of displaced people from Homs and Damascus 'stuck' at crossing to rebel-held northern Aleppo". Syria Direct.