The Syrian army captures 34 villages, including Um-Miyal[7] after advancing south of Aleppo towards theAbu al-Duhur Airbase, reaching a distance of about 6 km from its forces in the eastern countryside of Idlib.[8]
Syrian Army forces capture the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib governorate.[13]
The civilian death toll of the Rif Dimashq offensive rose to 200 over the first 48 hours, and the number of hospitals struck rose to seven - the highest 48 hour death toll since the 2013Ghouta chemical attack.[14][15]
Afrin offensive: Turkish forces -TAF/TSK and theirSyrian National Army (SNA) allies - announce the capture of seven villages, although the KurdishYPG recaptured two of them.[16]
Afrin offensive: As Turkey's Afrin intervention entered its second week, Turkey's Foreign MinisterMevlut Cavusoglu urged the US to 'immediately withdraw' its military personnel from Manbij in northern Syria that's held by the Kurds.[17]
ARussianSu-25 fighter jet is shot down by aMANPAD while on a patrolling mission over the ″de-escalation zone″ in the Idlib governorate. The pilot,Roman Filipov, safely ejected via parachute but died on the ground in a brief exchange of fire with militants on the outskirts ofSaraqib. HTS claimed responsibility for the downing.[18] In response, theRussian Ministry of Defence released alleged footage of airstrikes on HTS territory in the area of the crash site.[citation needed]
Syrian Army forces have recently seized a total of 76 towns and locations from ISIL forces in Idlib Governorate, closing out an ISIL pocket of resistance.[22]
According to American military sources, Syrian pro-government forcesinitiated an offensive against US-backedSDF territory east of theDeir ez-Zordeconfliction line, near aConoco gas field. The US-ledcoalition conducted strikes against the pro-government forces in support of the SDF.[23] According to one US official, more than 100 pro-government fighters were killed, while about 500 troops participated in the attack; no Americans were injured or killed during the engagement.[24][25] At a news briefing,Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White claimed the US is "not looking for a conflict with the regime."[26] According to a source close to the Syrian Army, approximately 25-30 Al-Baraka tribesmen were killed in the airstrikes. The Al-Baraka tribesmen are also from the Euphrates River Valley and considered locals.[27] The Russian government later admitted several dozen of its citizens died or were injured during the engagement.[28]
UN High Commissioner for Human RightsZeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for international action after "one of the bloodiest periods of the entire conflict", mainly in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib. The UN Human Rights Office received reports indicating that at least 277 civilians were killed between 4 and 9 February – 230 in pro-government airstrikes – with a further 812 civilians injured.[21]
An Israeli Air ForceF-16I fighter jetwas shot down in northernIsrael when it was hit by Syrian Air Defense. Both pilots were wounded but ejected and landed in Israeli territory.[29]
A Turkish Helicopter was shot down by the SDF/YPG south of Omeran village during the Afrin offensive.[30]
AnIsraeli army assessment claimed that half of Syria's aerial defense systems were destroyed in the retaliatory air force sortie during the 10 February airstrikes.[31]
The "Defeat the Invaders" Idlib rebel alliance announced the ISIL pocket in the region had been dissolved after some 400 people (ISIL fighters, their families and wounded) gave themselves up in the village ofKhwein al-Kabir.[32][33]
Heavy clashes erupt in the Aleppo and Idlib Governorates between the Syrian Liberation Front and Tahrir al-Sham.
In East Ghouta, monitors and activists reported 72 airstrikes, 97 civilian mortalities and 500 injuries in the first 24 hours of theRif Dimashq offensive. Five hospital were reportedly struck and put out of service.[39]
Afrin offensive: A convoy of a pro-Syrian government militia called "Popular Forces" entered Afrin to support the YPG but was hit by Turkish artillery "warning shots", forcing the convoy to retreat.[40][41]
By the fifth day of theRif Dimashq offensive (February 2018), monitors reported 38 deaths, making a total of over 300 killed in pro-government air strikes in East Ghouta.[42][43] Doctors Without Borders said at least 13 hospitals and clinics were damaged or destroyed over the previous days.[43]
The Syrian governmentassumes control ofSheikh Maqsood, Ashrafiya, Haidariya, Baaeydin and Holluk neighborhoods in North Aleppo after the YPG/YPJ garrison there deploy to Afrin.[44]
Airstrikes and artillery attacks on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus killed at least 46 people on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse, bringing the six day death toll to over 400.[45] The UN was unable to reach an agreement on a ceasefire resolution, due to Russian blocking.[46][47]
The Kurdish YPG called on the Syrian army to intervene in Afrin, to supplement pro-government militia already there.[48]
Ahrar al-Sham and Suqour al-Sham rebels attack positions of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance in Idlib, according to SOHR.[49]
Turkish President Erdogan claims a total of 2,021 YPG militants have been "neutralized" since the launch of the Afrin intervention. The Turkish government uses the term "neutralized" to refer to enemies both captured and killed. In turn, according to the Turkish Army, 32 Turkish soldiers have been killed and 183 others wounded since the beginning of the Afrin operation.[50]
The SAA begins its ground assault on East Ghouta on multiple fronts.[51]
The Syrian National Army and Turkish Armed Forces (SNA/TSK) captured the town ofRajo from the YPG along with capturing Ramadiyah and Hamelika villages in the Jinderes district during the ongoing Afrin offensive.[52]
SNA/TSK forces captured the town ofJindires from the YPG, giving them control of one of the largest settlements in Syria's northwest Afrin region.[53] They also captured the villages of Shawaghat al-Juz, Maarsat al-Khatib, Hallubi Kabir and Hallubi Saghir, and the "Mafraq al Jatt" crossroads, cutting off the Nubl-Kafrjana-Afrin highway.[54][55]
Tens of thousands of civilians evacuated the easternGhouta suburbs in one of the largest single-day exoduses of civilians since the start of the Syrian war.[59] A similar scale of displacement occurred in Afrin.[60][61]
There was renewed government bombing of Daraa, a "de-escalation zone".[62][63]
On the 58th day of the Turkish-led Afrin offensive,Afrin city is captured by SNA/TSK forces - punctuated by Turkish and Free Syrian Army flags and banners raised above the city. De-mining operations begin as there were reports of the city beingpillaged as military sites and civilian homes and businesses were looted by militants.[64][65]
Some U.S. commanders interviewed byNBC News warned that recent firings and distracting domestic political tumult within theTrump administration could jeopardize the Special Forces mission against ISIL in Syria.[69]
One British and one American servicemen were killed by an IED explosion in Manbij along with five other soldiers being injured.[70]
A summit on achieving a lasting ceasefire in Syria is held inAnkara, Turkey byIran's PresidentHassan Rouhani, Turkey's PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan andRussian PresidentVladimir Putin. The Ankara summit is particularly significant in that Russia and Iran support the Assad government and Turkey's president has supported the Free Syrian Army.[71]
About 100 buses evacuated the last batch of rebels and civilians from Douma,[73][74] following which Russian and Syrian government forces took complete control of Douma ending the four years longSiege of Eastern Ghouta.[75][76][77]
The SAA declared eastern Ghouta to be fully liberated after the last batch ofJaysh al-Islam rebel fighters evacuated Douma. Syrian forces promptly began mine-clearing operations in the city.[78]
As a part of an evacuation deal, rebels in EastQalamoun surrendered their weapons to the SAA in exchange for safe evacuation to rebel-held northern Syria, dissolving the rebel pocket of resistance there.[80] Thegovernment flag was raised inJayrud two days later as the last batch of rebels evacuated, signifying government control in the former rebel enclave.[81]
