The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed that violent clashes are taking place between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and Hezbollah against fighters of Jaysh al-Islam in the surrounding farms of Rahbat al-Ishara from the western side, near al-Rihan town in the Eastern Ghouta, where the regime forces are trying to advance in these farms and expand their control, amid heavy shelling by the regime forces on the clash areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had published at the 29th of September 2016 that the regime forces continue to fortify their positions in Rahbat al-Ishara and the surrounding farms which were controlled 4 days ago, after clashes that lasted days, in which the regime forces managed to extend their control over the strategic area of Rahbat al-Ishara, which is one of the important military fortifications of Jaysh al-Islam for defending al-Rihan town and Douma city in the Eastern Ghouta, while the regime forces brought in reinforcements of members and gunmen loyal to them to the area, having become about 3 kilometers away of Douma city which is the stronghold of Jaysh al-Islam in the Eastern Ghouta.

This control comes after nearly five months of the start of the violent in military operations the Eastern Ghouta, which came after the assassination of Mustafa Badr al-Din, the military commander in charge of Hezbollah forces in Syria, back then Hezbollah used the pretext of his assassination and described it as “”a shell launched by the factions landed on his presence area at Damascus international Airport””, where Hezbollah advanced backed by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and by an intense firearm cover in the southern sector of the Eastern Ghouta, where the regime forces are controlling towns and areas one after the other, taking advantage of the fighting between Jaysh al-Islam against Rahman Corps and Jaysh al-Fustat of which Fath al-Sham Front represents its backbone, the fighting broke out at late April 2016 where hundreds of fighters from both parties were killed, in addition to hundreds of prisoners and wounded in their ranks, where Hezbollah and the regime forces took control of the entire southern sector; including the towns of Deir al-Asafir, Zebdin, Nola, Bzina, Harasta al-Qantara, Hosh al-Homsi, Hosh al-Dweir, Bala, al-Rakkabiyyeh and al-Bayyad, after that they advanced toward Hosh al-Fara and Hosh Nasri down to Rahbat al-Ishara at the town of al-Rihan, causing a stranglehold over Douma city, after taking more farms and areas about 3 kilometers east of it, this may result in violent clashes in the coming days between the regime forces, Hezbollah and the gunmen loyal to them against Jaysh al-Islam, where the Observatory warned back in mid-May and before the start of the military operation that Hezbollah has involved the case of Mustafa Badr al-Din’s killing as a prelude for military action in the Eastern Ghouta, in order to raise the morale of his people, so they can say that it is a response to the “assassination” of Mustafa Badr al-Din.