The Rif Dimashq offensive (August–October 2012) () was a Syrian Army offensive in the Rif Dimashq Governorate during August–October 2012, as part of the Syrian Civil War.
Background After the military defeat of the rebels in the Battle of Damascus, sporadic clashes continued in some parts of the capital, where the rebellion was using guerilla tactics and hit-and-run attacks against the security forces. In early August 2012, the Syrian Army largely escalated its anti guerilla operations in order to restore the status quo ante bellum to the governorate.
Al-Tall The city of Al-Tall was known to be an important rebel base around Damascus. When the Battle of Damascus started, the rebels stormed two government buildings and reportedly detained 40 soldiers while seizing a quantity of weapons. The city was also one of the place where the rebel retreated after their defeat in Damascus. At the end of July, rebels were gathering and massing in Al-Tall to ready themselves for another attack on Damascus. In the beginning of August, the Syrian Army started shelling the rebel positions more intensively. The city became completely besieged by the Army after the abduction of 3 Syrian state-controlled media journalists by the rebels near the city. The Syrian Army took control of the city and cleared it of rebel presence 17 August, while the Syrian National Council described the area a "sinister zone". The three abducted journalists were freed by the Syrian Army. The bodies of 58 executed civilians were reportedly found in the town following the operation.
Southern Damascus outskirts On 17 August, fighting broke out between the Syrian Army and rebel fighters near the Damascus Military Airport, near Mezzeh district.
On 20 August, activists in Damascus again reported battles between the Army and rebel fighters in the Mezzeh district of Damascus. Helicopters were bombarding the district, leading to at least 12 casualties.
On 22 August, residents and activists reported heavy shelling in the southern Damascus districts of Kfar Souseh, Darayya, Qadam and Nahr Aisha. At least 40 people were killed in the shelling, which was accompanied by attacks from helicopters, and in ensuing ground raids in southern Damascus. The target of the military raids were reportedly rebel mortar teams, which had been targeting the military airport at Mezzeh the previous days. According to one activist, at least 36 of those killed were rebel fighters. Maaz al-Shami, a member of the Damascus Media Office, a group of young opposition activists monitoring the clashes in Damascus, claimed that the rebels who retreated from the capital, after the battle the previous month, had started to return.Syrian forces kill at least 31 in Damascus raids
On 23 August, and in parallel of the Darayya operation, the Syrian Army launched an important operation in Damascus, in what an opponent described as an "attempt to crush the rebellion once for all" in the capital. Several districts were cut off by the army and several executions of rebels fighters in the city were reported. Dozens of executed bodies were later found on 24 August. The army also arrested several people in the Kfar Sousseh district. State media reported that the Syrian Army discovered and killed the members of a rebel group in the Nair Aisha neighbourhood of the capital. The death toll of the operation was estimated at between 8 and 12 killed.
On 7 September, clashes broke out between rebels and the Syrian Army in Kazaz on the southern outskirts of Damascus, after a rebel attack on Army roadblocks."Clashes reported in southern neighbourhood of Damascus," Al Jazeera (7 September 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013. Also, a bomb went off in the Mezzeh district between the Justice Palace and the Information Ministry"Latest Damascus blast occurred in al-Mezzeh area: state media," Al Jazeera (7 September 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
On 12 September, the military started shelling the town of Al-Hajar al-Aswad, on the southern outskirts of Damascus. The town was regarded to be one of the last rebel strongholds on the southern fringes of the capital. The shelling continued until 19 September, when government troops advanced into al-Hajar al-Aswad, as well as the rebel-held al-Qadam and al-A'sali neighborhoods of Damascus, after the rebels retreated from the area during the morning. Army attacks on the south-western suburbs of Muadhamiya, Judaydat Artuz and Kanakir and Qudsaya to the north-west were also reported. During the fighting, the government reported that tens of rebels were killed in the counter-insurgency operation in al-Hajar al-Haswad. Three rebel technicals were also reportedly destroyed in the operation on 15 September.
On 15 September, state media reported that a qualitative operation took place in Al-Sbeineh city. The Syrian Army later found the corpses of 17 rebels who had been killed in the clashes and then burned by their comrades to avoid them being recognized.
On 23 September, the military started shelling the rebel-held town of Al Thiabieh, 11 miles from Damascus. When the rebels from Al Thiabieh and the surrounding area launched a counter-attack the shelling became more fierce. After three days of bombardment, during which two rebel fighters were killed, FSA forces retreated from the town and the military entered on 26 September. According to opposition activists and rebels, the military then started raiding homes, killing 50 people. By the end of the day, the Army withdrew from Al Thiabieh, after completing their operation. An estimated 40 to 107 people were killed during the attack on the town in what was described as a massacre by the opposition.
Mouadamiya After a two-day operation at the end of July, which killed 120 people in this suburb, the Syrian Army started a new operation on 20 August. The rebels repelled the first attack but the Syrian Army quickly managed to overrun the rebels. The death toll of the operation was estimated at 86 dead, half of them executed by the Syrian Army for being suspected rebels. SOHR confirmed at least 23 of the dead to be rebels. The Syrian media broadcast footage of the large quantity of weapons seized from the rebels in the city.
Daraya
Early during the offensive, rebels attacked a checkpoint outside Darayya, claiming to have killed 30 soldiers.
On 20 August, Daraya was shelled for the first time. Among those killed were 12 rebels."Monday 20 August 2012," Support Kurds in Syria (supportkurds.org). Source: "Final death toll for 20/8/2012," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
On 21 August, the Syrian Army began a three-day artillery offensive against the rebels' positions in Darayya, reportedly killing 70 people, including at least 18 rebels."Final death-toll for Friday 24/8/2012: More than 210 Syrians have been killed on Friday," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (24 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013. After that, hundreds of soldiers, backed by helicopters and armored vehicles entered Darayya, facing little resistance. The last rebel group withdrew in the face of the military advance and opposition activists were fearing that young men suspected of being rebels could be executed.
On 25 August, the bodies of 200 people were reportedly discovered in the town. Most of the dead appeared to be the result of executions. SOHR reported that the death toll had thus reached 270 killed during the attack on Daraya, including women, children and rebels. One rebel fighter was also killed during the day in security sweeps. 40-50 of the day's corpses had been discovered near a mosque. 80 of the dead had been identified as civilians, while 120 remained unidentified.
On 26 August, the SOHR updated its report on Darayya, saying that 320 people had been killed since the start of the offensive,"Hundreds of dead found in Syrian town," The Australian (27 August 2012). Source: AFP the majority of them being executed in the previous few days."Syrian death toll 183 Saturday, 34 in Daraya," Al Jazeera (26 August 2012). Source: AFP Retrieved 5 May 2013.
The official state agency SANA reported that the army cleansed the city from rebels who had committed crimes against the residents and destroyed public and private properties in the city.Oliver Holmes, "Assad's forces accused of massacre near Syrian capital," Reuters (26 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013. However, the UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings of hundreds in the city and called it "an appalling and brutal crime" while Mohamed Mursi, called for Assad's allies to help push the Syrian leader out of power. "Now is the time to stop this bloodshed and for the Syrian people to regain their full rights, and for this regime that kills its people to disappear from the scene," he told Reuters in his first interview with an international news organisation before embarking on a trip to China and Iran. "There is no room to talk about reform, but the discussion is about change," Mursi said.Al Jazeera and agencies, "Air strikes near Damascus kill dozens," Al Jazeera (28 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
Days later, bodies were still being found and local residents claimed the death toll had reached 400.Mona Mahmood, Luke Harding and agencies, "Syria's worst massacre: Daraya death toll reaches 400," The Guardian (28 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
On 29 August, journalist Robert Fisk, of "The Independent", entered the town and spoke with local residents, some out of earshot of Syrian officials. The residents gave accounts that differed from what was being reported in the media. Some stated that it was the FSA fighters that committed at least some of the killings, the dead being off-duty soldiers or pro-government civilians. They also stated that their homes had been overtaken by rebels and in some cases demolished. Others said they were not sure who was responsible for the killings. The journalist also talked to several officers, who told him that the attack on the town started after talks for a prisoner swap between the rebels and the military failed.Robert Fisk, "Inside Daraya - how a failed prisoner swap turned into a massacre," The Independent (29 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
Eastern Damascus outskirts On 27 August, a rebel commander stated that government forces had been moving, since the start of the offensive, from the west of Damascus, around the capital, to the east towards the Ghouta area. The area had become the next target of the military, following operations in Daraya. He said Ghouta was home to some of the strongest rebel groups. He also claimed that, at the same time, the rebels were attempting to enter Damascus again, this time around in a more organised manner. Earlier during the day, an Army attack helicopter was shot down over the Qaboon district of eastern Damascus, during clashes.Naharnet Newsdesk "59 Dead as Syrian Regime Opens New Front in Damascus," Naharnet.com (27 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
The same day, rebels attacked government positions in Saqba, just northeast of Ghouta, overrunning several Army checkpoints. Following the attacks, opposition activists reported that airstrikes killed 60 people in the adjacent area of Zamalka and an unspecified number in Saqba."Air strikes near Damascus kill dozens," Al Jazeera (28 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Oliver Holmes, "Warplane attacks on Damascus suburbs kill 60: activists," Reuters (27 August 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
On 29 August, the rebels claimed to have captured a military missile warehouse in the Ghouta area, seizing 10 missiles.