Deir Ezzor Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the western banks of the Euphrates River witnessed violent clashes between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities on one hand, and the members of the “Islamic State” organization on the other, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the clashes concentrated in the out skirts of Hawija Sakr, following a violent counter attack by the members of the regime on the area, and the organization started the attack by exploding a booby trapped vehicle followed by attacks by groups of the organization on the regime forces positions, accompanied by intensive shelling by the regime forces and shelling by the organization on the positions of other party, and the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them monitored the death of tens of the members of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them, where the SOHR documented the death of 34 members at least of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them and the injury of others with varying degrees of severity, during the attack which carried out on the 23rd of September 2017, thus, the number of casualties who were killed by the counter attacks, and the explosions of the booby trapped vehicles, since the 18th of September 2017, the date of crossing the Euphrates River by the regime and Russian forces, by using water bridges and boats, is raised to 66, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the members of the organization pulled the dead bodies of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them and carried them around in villages and areas controlled by it, to prove its strength and its ability to defeat the attackers.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 18th of September 2017 that scouting forces of the regime forces crossed the Euphrates River to the eastern bank of it which is opposite Deir Ezzor city under a Russian cover, by using water bridges, and that took place after intensive shelling by the regime forces targeted the banks opposite to Deir Ezzor Military Airbase and the areas of Al-Jafrah and Al-Mrey’eyah which the regime forces controlled.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday that Marrat, Al-Husseiniyah, Al-Junaynah, Hatla and Al-Sabha, on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River opposite Deir Ezzor city, witnessed intensive shelling by the regime forces by rocket and artillery shells, in a preparation of the Russian forces and the regime forces for crossing the Euphrates River, to take the control of the villages opposite the city, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published hours ago that the regime forces backed by their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, and supported by Russian air cover, are trying to advance and control the Hawijah Sakar area, which will allow the Russian forces and the regime forces to use it Deir Ezzor military base as a base for the ongoing military operation in Deir Ezzor province, and the attempt to control the area located in the outskirts of the Deir Ezzor area

And the regime forces managed more than one week ago to open the main road coming from Damascus, and the operation of lifting the siege was carried out on 3 stages the first was to lift the siege on the Brigade 137, then lifting the siege of Deir Ezzor Military Airport and the bloc of neighborhoods related to it, and the third stage was to reach the western entrance of Deir Ezzor city at the area of Panorama area after taking the control of Damascus – Deir Ezzor road.