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Quneitra offensive (June 2015)

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Quneitra offensive (June 2015)
Part of the Syrian Civil War

Map showing territorial changes during the course of the 2015 Quneitra Offensive. Map covers the entirety of Quneitra Governorate, with the main area of fighting delimited with a box with a broken black line border.
Date16–26 June 2015 (1 week and 3 days)
Location
Quneitra Governorate, Syria
Result Indecisive; Minimal rebel gains[3]
Belligerents

Free Syrian Army[1]

Jaish al-Haramoun

Syria Syrian Arab Republic

Commanders and leaders
Khaled al-Nabulsi[4] Unknown
Units involved

Southern Front

Army of Conquest

Golan Regiment
Liwa Suqour al-Quneitra
9th Division[6]
Strength
4,000+[7] Unknown
Casualties and losses
15 killed (SOHR claim)[8][9]
37 killed (18–19 June; Army claim)[6][10]		 27 killed[3][8][6][11][12]

The Quneitra offensive (June 2015) was launched by Syrian rebel forces, during the Syrian Civil War, in order to capture the last government-held positions in Quneitra Governorate: Hader, Madinat al-Baath, Khan Arnabah and the strategic hill of Tell Krum. The other objective was connecting southern rebel-held parts of Syria with Western Ghouta.[1][13]

The offensive

[edit]

The offensive was launched on 16 June 2015. It was unclear who started the operation, with some reports saying it was the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army,[14][15] while others that it was a newly formed coalition called Jaish al-Haramoun,[16] which was established by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.[2][15] According to the Southern Front, it specifically forbade the participation of al-Nusra, with a spokesman stating it does "not share the vision for a free Syria we are fighting for".[14]

The next day, the rebels surrounded the Druze town of Hadar, after they seized the Tuloul al-Hamar area,[16][17] including the strategic Tal Hamr hill north of the town.[8] Also, the rebels launched simultaneous attacks targeting Tal Shaar, Tal al Bazzaq and the town of Jaba. The attacks were repelled by Syrian armed forces.[18]

On 19 June, the SOHR reported that rebels had captured a large quantity of ammunition and weapons during ongoing clashes in the Tuloul al-Hamar area,[11] while local government reinforcements were deployed to aid the besieged Druze militia in Hader.[19] Later that day, the Syrian Army's 9th Division recaptured Tal Hamr hill, making Hader no longer besieged. In response to the Army counter-attack, rebels brought in new reinforcements.[9][10]

On 20 June, the 'Army of Conquest in the southern region' was established[20] and immediately took part in the campaign in Quneitra,[21] while the FSA announced the battle for the 160th Battalion, Infantry Battalion and Military Police barrier in Quneitra.[22] The next day, FSA's First Army announced it would not cooperate with the Army of Conquest.[23]

As of 23 June, fighting continued at the towns of Beit Jinn, Jabatha Al-Khashab and Ufaniya,[24] while the rebels once again seized several positions in the Tuloul al-Hamar area, with the Army making attempts to regain them over the following several days.[3]

On 25 June, opposition activists claimed fighting took place in Jaba village, located along the primary supply line for the government forces stationed in some of the villages and hills north of Quneitra. The rebels also claimed they were in the process of opening the way to Beit Jinn, in an attempt to trap several military brigades in the surrounding al-Hamar highlands, and cut the supply lines of government forces to Quneitra. They also claimed to had seized heat-seeking anti-aircraft Cobra rockets from military installations in the al-Hamar highlands.[25]

Reaction

[edit]
  •  Israel – Israel, which has a large Druze population has been watching the offensive closely.[26] The BBC reported that "thousands of Druze protested in villages across Israel, calling on the government and international community to come to the aid of their brethren in Syria".[27] The Israeli government has stated that it will not send troops to Druze areas of Syria, though the government did lobby the United States for increased aid to the Druze populations on the Syrian side of the border.[26] However, Gadi Eizenkot, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Force has stated that the "IDF will do everything it can to prevent a massacre of Syrian refugees who have taken refuge near the border with Israel".[26][28]
  •  Lebanon - Reactions among Druze politicians in Lebanon varied, though all expressed concern for Druze populations in Syria. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the predominantly Druze Progressive Socialist Party, "called on Syrian Druze to support the rebellion in their country, arguing that the real threat to them came from a government that killed dozens of people every day".[27] Alternatively, Wiam Wahhab of the Lebanese Unification Movement, a supporter of Bashar al-Assad, disagreed with Jumblatt's suggestion and instead "appealed for "money, volunteers, weapons" to help those in Suweida defend themselves".[27]

Aftermath

[edit]

In late July 2015, it was reported that the Syrian Armed Forces targeted the rebel contingents at the towns of Jabatha Al-Khashab, Turnajah, Al-Hamidiyah, Al-Samadaniyah Al-Sharqiyah, and Al-Ajraf.[29]

On 25 August 2015, it was reported that the rebels had control of the Tuloul al-Hamar,[30][31][32][33] from which they sniped cars travelling on the three-kilometer dirt road between the government-held towns of Hader and Harfa.[34][35]

In late August and early September, rebel attacks on Madinat al-Baath and Khan Arnabah from Samadaniyah al-Gharbi-Al-Hamidiyah axis and Al-Huriyah-Ufaniyah axis were repelled.[36][37][38][39]

On 27 Sep 2015, it was reported that Israeli rockets had struck Syrian army positions in Brigade 90, Nabi' al-Fawwar and Tel ash Shahm army base.[40][41]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Syrian Rebellion Obs on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "archicivilians on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c clashes renew in Homs, shelling targets Latakia Mountains, and more deaths in the ranks of the regime forces in the countryside of Al-Quneitra Archived July 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. SOHR. 26 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Syrian Rebellion Obs on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Charles Lister on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Leith Fadel. "Militant Offensive in Al-Quneitra Fails to Yield Any Gains". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Syrian Rebellion Obs on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "Rebels surround Druze village in Syria's Golan: activists". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  9. ^ a b edward (20 June 2015). "The regime forces advance in the vicinity of Al-Quneitra, and the factions bring reinforcement to the area". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b Leith Fadel. "Breaking: Syrian Army Recaptures Tal Hamr in Al-Quneitra; Siege of Hadar Lifted". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  11. ^ a b sohranas (19 June 2015). "Members in the regime forces killed in clashes in the countryside of al- Quneitera, while civilians killed in shelling on the countryside of Darra". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  12. ^ edward (21 June 2015). "Clashes on the outskirts of Al-Quneitera leaves causalities on the regime forces' ranks". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Syrian Rebellion Obs on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Syria conflict: Rebels launch Quneitra offensive". BBC News. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015. 'Isam al-Rayyis, spokesman for the opposition forces tweeted that the groups involved in the operation signed an agreement that does not include the al-Nusrah Front (al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria). al-Rayyis clarified that the groups involved in the attack were fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army. The Southern Front had "prohibited" al-Nusra from joining the operation because it did "not share the vision for a free Syria we are fighting for", he added.
  15. ^ a b "In Syria, Rebel Disputes Will Not Halt Southern Offensive". Stratfor. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015. Though not formally integrated into the offensive, Jabhat al-Nusra established its own operations room and has participated in the fighting — mostly around Hadar, to the north — though it has been isolated from the Southern Front.
  16. ^ a b "Syria rebels launch Quneitra campaign". 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  17. ^ Clashes continue in the countryside of Al-Quneitra, and shelling targets Deir Ezzor city Archived June 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. SOHR. 17 June 2015.
  18. ^ United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. "Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force for the period from 29 May to 28 August 2015" (PDF). United Nations Security Council. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  19. ^ "watanisy on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  20. ^ sohranas. "Some factions establish "al- Fateh Army" in the south of Syria". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  21. ^ "Charles Lister on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  22. ^ sohranas. "Rebel and Islamic factions announce the battle of "opening the road towards the Western Ghouta"". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  23. ^ Ahmad. "فصيل مقاتل في الجنوب السوري يعلن رفضه للتعاون مع جيش الفتح". المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  24. ^ Leith Fadel. "Islamist Fighters and Druze Militias Clash in the Golan Heights". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Syrian Opposition Launches Attack on Regime Forces". Aleteia.org – Worldwide Catholic Network Sharing Faith Resources for those seeking Truth – Aleteia.org.
  26. ^ a b c Harel, Amos (18 June 2015). "How far will Israel go to protect Syria's Druze?". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  27. ^ a b c Irshaid, Faisal (19 June 2015). "Syria's Druze under threat as conflict spreads". BBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  28. ^ Lis, Jonathan (16 June 2015). "Israeli army chief: IDF won't allow massacre of Syrian refugees on border". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  29. ^ Leith Fadel. "Syrian Army Captures Tal Qaba'a Near the Israeli Bordder". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  30. ^ “جيش الحرمون” ينفي ادعاءات النظام بالتقدم في ريف القنيطرة Archived September 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "شبكة المعلومات السورية القومية الاجتماعية - Syrian Social National Information Network".
  32. ^ YouTube.
  33. ^ رسالة من الجيش العربي السوري بريف القنيطرة - YouTube. 17 September 2015 – via YouTube.
  34. ^ al-Abed, Tarik (25 August 2015). "Quneitra between enemy fire and insurgent attacks". As-Safir. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  35. ^ طارق العبد. "طارق العبد: حضر: خط الدفاع عن القنيطرة :: عربي ودولي - جريدة السفير". جريدة السفير.
  36. ^ "5 شهداء في اعتداء إسرائيلي جديد".
  37. ^ خلود حسن. "أخر التطورات العسكرية حتى الساعة ." D.N.N شبكة دمشق الإخبارية.
  38. ^ القنيطرة : الجيش يحبط تسلل إرهابيين من اتجاه الصمدانية والحميدية - YouTube. 24 August 2015 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ "Syria in the Last 72 Hours". SYRIA 360° — REPORTING ON EVENTS IN SYRIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST - ARABIC AND ENGLISH. 13 September 2015.
  40. ^ "Sami". Twitter.
  41. ^ "Sami". Twitter.
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