The Palestine Liberation Army is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel. However, it has never been under effective PLO control, but rather it has been controlled by its various host governments, usually Syria. Even though it initially operated in several countries, the present-day PLA is only active in Syria and recruits male Palestinian refugees.
Harasta, also known as Harasta al-Basal or Hirista, is a town and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria. Harasta has an altitude of 702 meters. It has a population of 34,184 as of 2007, making it the 43rd largest city per geographical entity in Syria.
Al-Hajar al-Aswad is a Syrian city just 4 km (2 mi) south of the centre of Damascus in the Darayya District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate.
Zamalka is a town of Damascus in Syria, located 3.5 kilometers (2.2 mi) east-northeast of Old Damascus. It is administratively a part of the Markaz Rif Dimashq District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. Nearby localities include Jobar and Qaboun to west and northwest, Harasta and Arbin to north and northeast, Hamouriyah and Saqba to east, Kafr Batna to southeast, Ein Tarma to the south and Al-Maamouniye to southwest. The Aleppo-Damascus Highway is the districts boundary in the west, separating Zamalka from the Jobar municipality of Damascus.
The Rif Dimashq offensive was a Syrian government forces and allies offensive in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, that was launched in mid-September 2013, as part of the Syrian Civil War.
The Rif Dimashq offensive was a Syrian government forces and allies offensive in the Rif Dimashq Governorate that was launched in late March 2013, as part of the Syrian Civil War.
The Rif Dimashq offensive was a Syrian Army offensive in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, that was launched in late August 2014, as part of the Syrian Civil War.
The Battle of Yarmouk Camp (2015) broke out in April 2015, during the Syrian Civil War, when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant stormed the rebel-held Yarmouk Camp. The Yarmouk Camp is a district of Damascus that is home to the largest community of Palestinian refugees in Syria.
The Rif Dimashq offensive , or the battle of "Allah al-Ghalib", was a battle launched by the rebels around Tall Kurdi, Adra and Harasta in Eastern Ghouta.
The Al-Rahman Legion, also known as the Al-Rahman Corps, is a Syrian rebel group that operated in Eastern Ghouta on 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 former Syrian Army officer from rural Homs who defected from the Syrian Army in early 2012. The Legion has been described as an "Islamist" or as a non-Salafi "political Islamist" organisation. It describes itself as "a revolutionary military entity aiming for the downfall of the Syrian regime, seeking to create 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.
The Eastern Qalamoun offensive was a large-scale military offensive against Syrian rebel positions in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains of the Rif Dimashq Governorate launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant along a frontline of more than 15 kilometers in the region.
The Guardians of the Dawn are a coalition of Christian pro-government militias which are involved in the Syrian Civil War and affiliated with the Air Force Intelligence Directorate. Although the Guardians of the Dawn, whose official motto is "A homeland that we do not protect is one we do not deserve to live in", promote themselves as a Syrian nationalist force, their fighters are primarily motivated by a concept of holy war to defend the Christian areas of Syria from hostile rebels. The militiamen of Usud al-Cherubim, one of the coalition's constituent groups, even refer to themselves as "mujahideen of the cross".
The Qaboun offensive (2017) was a military operation of the Syrian Arab Army in the suburbs of Damascus against rebel forces during the Syrian Civil War. Its intended goal was to capture the Damascus suburbs of Qaboun and Barzeh from rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
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.
The 2017 Jobar offensive was a military operation launched by the Syrian Arab Army and allies against rebel positions in the eastern outskirts of Damascus city, mainly the neighbourhood of Jobar and Ayn Tarma.
The Qalamoun Shield Forces was a militia formed by natives of the Qalamoun Mountains that fought for the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War. Originally a small auxiliary and self-defense group, QSF grew into relatively large and well-equipped paramilitary force that operated nationwide. Led by Firas Jaz'ah, the Qalamoun Shield Forces were closely affiliated with the 3rd Armoured Division.
The Battle of Harasta, codenamed "They Were Wronged", was a military operation launched by Syrian rebels against positions of the Syrian Arab Army in Harasta, a northeastern suburb of Damascus, during 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.
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.
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.
Syrian Arab Republic 
Iran (from 2013)
Russia (from 2015)
Palestine Liberation Army 
Hezbollah 
Arab Nationalist Guard 
SSNP 
LAAG (from 2013)
Free Syrian Army 
Al-Nusra Front 
Ahrar ash-Sham 
Jaysh al-Islam 
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) 