Syrian Army Launches Damascus Offensive, Rebels Seize Key Border Crossings

July 20, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Syrian opposition fighters have taken control of a number of border crossings with Iraq. It came after Syrian state television announced that regime forces had "cleaned" the al-Midan neighbourhood of "terrorists". "Our brave army forces have completely cleaned the area of Midan in Damascus of the remaining mercenary terrorists and have reestablished security," the broadcaster said. Damascus activist Khaled al-Shami, contacted via Skype, said rebels carried out a "tactical" retreat early on Friday to spare civilians further shelling after five days of intense clashes between opposition fighters and regime forces. The Observatory, in an earlier statement, said "seven tanks and two armed personnel carriers stormed the district" of al-Midan, in southern Damascus. Clashes were also reported in Kafr Souseh and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad on outskirts of Damascus between Syrian regime forces and rebel fighters.

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Battle of Damascus

The Battle of Damascus, also known as Operation Damascus Volcano, started on 15 July 2012 during the Syrian uprising. Explore this topic

Al-Midan

Al-Midan is a neighbourhood located in Damascus, Syria, just south of the old walled city of Damascus very near the modern city centre. Its streets and alleys are full of heritage and history due to the age of the neighbourhood. Throughout history, its people fought alongside ... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Damascus

Damascus, commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo. It borders Quneitra, Daraa and As-Suwayda to the south, Jordan to the east, Homs to the north, and Lebanon to the west. It is a... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Syrian army

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Abu Kamal

Abu Kamal or al-Bukamal is a city in eastern Syria on the Euphrates River near the border with Iraq. The Euphrates divides Abu Kamal into two areas: Shamiyya and Jazira Al-Jazira, a plains region consisting of northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq, quite distinct from the S... Explore this topic

Hisham Ikhtiyar

Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar was a Syrian military official, and a national security adviser to president Bashar al-Assad. Explore this topic

Border

Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen... Explore this topic

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Battle of Damascus

Al-Midan

Syrian Civil War

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