The opposition factions operating in Eastern Ghouta are, ‘accurately’, following the methods of urban warfare against the assaulting Assad forces, the ‘Fourth Armoured Division’, because the tactical goal, on the ground, is ‘resistance not victory’, along with stationing ambushes to drain the assaulting party day after day.

In the past a few days, al Assad forces and their supportive militias attempted to make a progress at the expense of the opposition factions operating in the region, ‘Al-Rahman Legion’. They did not succeed and suffered losses the last of which were on Thursday morning, September 28, when the legion announced killing more than 45 members of the ‘Fourth Armoured Division’ resorting to a series of ambushes on the outskirts of Jubar Neighbourhood and Ayn Tarma.

The urban warfare plan followed by the legion has proved to be the most effective for the past a few days; since the campaign started, not a single day passed without the legion announcing killing dozens of al Assad forces, as well as causing casualties and taking captives.

Al Assad forces have been trying to follow the same plan, stationing ambushes, by digging tunnels and supplying them with explosives, especially on the front lines; in the past days, they also have been showing video recordings saying that they are among other operations conducted by the ‘Syrian Republican Guard’ and its engineering units.

The Opposition: 475 Casualties in three Months

On Friday, September 29, 2017, the legion announced the casualties of the ‘Fourth Armoured Division’ of the al-Assad forces within 100 days on Jubar and Ayn Tarma fronts.

The legion’s media office stated that during the period from 28 June to 28 September the legion has managed to kill more than 475 members of the ‘Fourth Armoured Division’, including more than 28 officers, and wounded more than 1200 members.

It pointed that the legion’s fighters have captured one member of al Assad forces while they stationed 11 ambushes according to video recordings presented on its official accounts.

The office also stated that the legion destroyed four Shilka wagons, six ‘BMP’ vehicles, four Fosdika cannons, 12 military bulldozers, three ‘Elephant’ rocket launchers, seven ‘23 calibre’ cannons and three ‘14.5’ machine guns.

While the Syrian Regime did not comment on the latest results presented by the legion, associate media outlets confirmed the outcome of last the Thursday’s ambushes, which reached 45 members including three officers, first lieutenants, in addition to other 17 wounded members, and said that these fell by bombing a series of buildings on the outskirts of Ayn Tarma.

The regime’s media outlets continued to speak of the continuous attempts to progress, especially on the blocks separating the positions held by al Assad forces and those by the opposition factions covered by warplanes and heavy artillery.

They pointed out that the Syrian Army seeks to go deep in Ayn Tarma from three axes, the first starting from Sunbul Gas Station, the second from the area of Kamal Masharga and the third from AlJbbaweya Street.

The military operations are accompanied by daily artillery and missile attacks on both Jubar Neighbourhood and Ayn Tarma; accordingly, more than 20 civilian casualties and dozens of injuries have been reported since the beginning of September.

The attacks on Ayn Tarma and Jubar are only a continuation of a series of attacks which al Assad forces have started on three axes in the region since June.

The importance of Jubar, a Damascene neighborhood, lies in its being the Eastern Ghouta’s gate to the heart of the capital city, Damascus because the neighborhood’s borders start at the highway separating it from Zamalka to AlAbasyeen Square.

The neighborhood is one of the places where al Assad suffered many casualties and military losses as a result for the repeated targeting of its operation rooms and the killing of dozens of its officers and commanders.

‘Reduction of Tension’ on Paper only

The Damascene neighborhood of Jubar has joined the reduction of tension and ceasefire zones under the agreement signed by ‘Al Rahman Legion’ and the Russian side.

The agreement is about a firm ceasefire of all types of weapons covering all the areas controlled by the ‘Free Army’ in Jubar in the Eastern Ghouta.

The agreement also includes breaking the siege over Eastern Ghouta, and providing the region with all the basic materials it needs without any sort of obstacles, taxes or royalties with showing a concern for releasing detainees and the prisoners belonging to all the involved parties in the agreement.

In a former interview, Wael Alwan, the legion’s official spokesperson, considered al Assad forces violation of signed agreements as nothing new since they did not abide by the previous agreements which included Eastern Ghouta, including Ankara Agreement and the outcomes of the Astana Peace Talks.

He made it clear that, ‘’It is expected that al Assad forces will not be committed to the agreement, and the Russians will not be serious,’’ adding that, ‘’the factions are maneuvring the political track and the corridors of international negotiations amidst the silence of all the international community’’.

“We are currently documenting all the violations, and we will inform the Russian side and guarantors of the previous Astana and the United Nations,” he said.

However, the Syrian regime justifies its bombing of Eastern Ghouta by saying that it is targeting the sites of ‘Hayat Tahrir al Sham’ which is included on the world’s lists of terrorist groups and not included in the signed agreement.