Baladi News – Hama (Musab al-Ashqar)
It has been one year after the liberation most of the villages and towns in al-Ghab plain from the Syrian regime after battles that continued for 3 consecutive months, the fiercest of which took place in al-Karkura village and al-Ziara town.
After liberating Idlib, Ariha, and Jisr al-Shoghour by Jaysh al-Fatah, the rebel factions headed towards al-Ghab plain, where the rebels showed great courage capturing Tal A’awar, Tal Hamki, and Zaizon Electrical Power Plant in the northern part of the plain. Then, they advanced and captured the villages of al-Mshayyek, al-Karkur, Tal Wasit,and al-Ziara town after attacks and retreats. In these clashes, prominent officers from the regime forces were killed, most importantly the bodyguard of Major Suhail al-Hassan, Ali al-Hajji, and Suhail al-Hassan himself was injured.
Ahmad Abu al-Baraa, leader in Ajnad al-Sham, indicated that one of the most important results of these battles was the unification of rebels under the leadership of one operations room, which was a good example that was reflected positively on the factions all around Syria.
Militarily speaking, the speaker said, “We could drive the regime forces away from their most important strongholds in the area, namely the Rural Development Department in al-Ziara town, which was used by the regime as an operation room for the whole region. In addition, we created a barrier that prevents the regime from reaching Idlib governorate by pushing its forces back to the allied villages west from Orontes River in the plain.”
Abu al-Baraa confirmed that the regime forces are currently under the pressure of the residents of the allied villages and towns, because the defense lines of the rebels are now located on the banks of Orontes River, which would allow the rebels to wage attacks against these villages if the regime targets the liberated towns and villages.
The leader pointed out that the rebels resumed their action by waging strong and intense attacks in al-Ghab plain, which enabled them to liberate Khurbat al-Naqous about 50 days ago, which established Orontes River as a natural barrier between the allied villages and the liberated areas.
On the other hand, activist Tarek Osman Abu al-Majd told Baladi News that “the price paid for the liberating the area at the time was very expensive”, because all the villages and towns in the northern part of the plain were razed to the ground. The residents of these areas, amounting to approximately 135,000, are now homeless and poor because they had to leave their farm lands that are their only source of living.
Abu al-Majd added that the villages and towns of al-Karkur, al-Ziara, and Tal Awsat are completely afflicted, where the percentage of destroyed buildings exceeded 90% as a result of the regime forces bombardments on citizens’ houses and infrastructure.
As regards economic situation, the speaker indicated that “Thousands hectares of farmlands, which are considered the breadbasket of the country, were turned into a desert due to the heavy bombardments of the regime forces on the area, which prevents farmers from reaching their farms. ”
It is noteworthy that the rebels pursued their operations in al-Ghab on the front of al-Sarmania and al-Hakoura in an attempt to reach Jurin camp, where the operations center of the area, as well as the missiles bases and tanks targeting the liberated areas, are located. The destruction of this camp would turn the area habitable again, which supports the possibility for the displaced to return.
