| Damascus offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSyrian civil war (Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign) | |||||||
.svg) Frontlines in Rif Dimashq from February to March 2013 Syrian government control Opposition control Contested | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Syrian government Hezbollah PFLP–GC[3] Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas[4] | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Khaled al-Haboush(Damascus Military Council commander)  SheikhZahran Alloush[citation needed](Liwa al-Islam brigade commander) | Bashar al-Assad Issam Zahreddine[9](Republican Guard Brigade 104 commander) Ali Abdullah Ayyoub(Chief of staff) Ahmed Jibril(PFLP – GC)[10] Ali Smender †(National Defence Front for Syria)[citation needed] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 70,000 soldiers,[13] 1000+ tanks | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 735+ fighters killed[14] | 3,400+ soldiers killed[14] | ||||||
TheDamascus offensive refers to a series of rebel operations[15] that began in early February 2013 in and around the city ofDamascus.
On 6 February, rebel forces launched an offensive, named "Battle of Armageddon", on the edge of Central Damascus, with rebels entering the Jobar District of Damascus after overrunning aSyrian Arab Army roadblock. Parts of the Damascus ring road which acts as a barrier between Central Damascus andGhouta were also seized by rebel fighters. Rebels have also launched attacks onAdra, north east of Damascus.[16][17]
On 10 February, a rebel claimed that opposition forces had captured another military checkpoint in the Jobar district. However,Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that while fighting for the highway continued, government troops regained control of the area after bombing rebel positions the day before.[18]
On 19 February, the rebels began moving truckloads of anti aircraft weapons into Jobar in an effort to consolidate advances made in the Eastern Damascus district.[19]
On 20 February, aSCUD missile, fired by government forces, hit the command center of theIslamist militiaLiwa Al-Islam nearDouma, which had been spearheading the attack against the roundabout and the Jobar district. Sheikh Zahran Alloush, the commander and founder of the brigade, had been wounded in the strike. The area was devastated and other rebel fighters were also killed or wounded.[20]
On 21 February, rebels launched 3 car bombings on security targets in theBarzeh neighbourhood in Damascus. Also fired several mortar rounds at the Syrian army's general staff headquarters inUmayyad Square, as well as other streets and squares known to house government and security offices, according to residents and activists.SOHR claimed that 22 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in these other attacks.[21]
On 27 February, SOHR claimed that rebels had fired several mortar shells which exploded in the military Judiciary and literature department of theUniversity of Damascus.[22]
On 2 March, heavy fighting was reported inDarayya between rebels and the Syrian Army. TheLocal Coordination Committees of Syria claimed that rebels targeted a military column attempting to storm Darayya, and also defended several attempts by the government to storm Jobar.[23][24]
On 3 March, rebels reportedly fired several rockets at security forces headquarters in Damascus, though it is unknown if there were any casualties.[25]
On 12 March, 30 military deserters were killed in an Army ambush near Damascus while they were heading towards the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area.[26]
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On 18 March, rebels operating within Damascus launched mortar bombs at theDamascus Presidential Palace, though its unclear if there were any casualties.[27]
On 21 March, an explosion in the Iman Mosque in the Al-Mazraa district killed as many as 41 people, includingSunni cleric, SheikhMuhammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti. Syrian state TV claimed the explosion was a suicide bombing, though some residents claim it was caused by a mortar bomb that struck a nearby political office.[28][29]
On 25 March, the rebels launched one of their heaviest bombardments of Central Damascus since the start of their revolt, with mortars reportedly hitting Umayyad Square, where the Ba'ath Party headquarters, Air Force Intelligence and state television are also located. The attack was launched when rebel forces advanced into theKafr Souseh district of Damascus, and the Syrian Army retaliated with artillery launched from Mount Qasioun.[5]
