Assad forces and Hezbollah militia carried on their assault against villages and towns of Wadi Barada in Rural Damascus, for the 15th consecutive day, carrying out tens of airstrikes and dropping barrel-bombs over the area, accompanied with attempts to advance on several frontlines in Wadi Barada.

RFS correspondent in Rural Damascus, Yusuf Al-Bustani, said that regime aircrafts launched 4 rockets loaded with the toxic chlorine gas against Wadi Barada for the first time, which led to suffocations among civilians, while regime aircrafts and artillery are still targeting villages and towns of Wadi Barada simultaneous with advancement attempts by regime forces and Hezbollah militias on many frontlines.

Wadi Barada activists confirmed that Assad aircrafts targeted the area with more than 60 airstrikes using thermobaric rockets and dropped barrel-bombs. On the 4th day of the assault, attacks concentrated on the Bsema town, targeted with more than 50 airstrikes accompanied with artillery shelling by Assad tanks and artillery positioned around Wadi Barada.

Opposition factions, however, thwarted all advancement attempts by regime and Hezbollah on all frontlines preventing any advancement of the latter, per activists in the area.

On the other hand, with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Wadi Barada, a group of activists started the campaign #SaveWadiBarada, to show the case of around 100 thousand civilians besieged there without water, electricity, or medicines, and with lack of any mean of communications in the area.

Yusuf Al-Bustani

RFS – Rural Damascus