2015 Southern Syria offensive

2015 Southern Syria offensive
Part of the Syrian Civil War

  Syrian Government control
  Opposition control
  Contested
Date7 February – 13 March 2015
(1 month and 6 days)
Location
Daraa Governorate, Rif Dimashq Governorate and Quneitra Governorate, Syria
Result

Syrian Army and allies victory (Phase one); Stalemate (Phase two)

  • Government forces capture seven towns and villages and eight hills[8][9][10]
Belligerents

Syrian Revolutionary Command Council

Islamic Muthanna Movement[2]
al-Nusra Front
Jamaat Bayt al-Maqdis al-Islamiya[2][3]

Syrian Arab Republic

Hezbollah

Iranian IRGC[4]
Liwa Fatemiyoun[5]
Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada[6]
Jaysh al-Wafaa[7]
Commanders and leaders
Gen. Bashar al-Zoubi
(Southern Front leader)
Maj. Abu Osama al-Jolani[11]
Col. Saber Safar
(leader of the First Army)[12]
Mukhtar Abu Omar †
(top military leader of al-Nusra Front in Southern Syria)[13][14]		 Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani[15]
Mustafa Badreddine[16]
Maj. Gen. Suheil Salman Hassan
(5th Mechanized Division)
Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Mustafa †[17]
Col. Abbas Abdollahi †[18][19]
Alireza Tavassoli †
(Liwa Fatemiyoun leader)[20]
Units involved

Southern Front

Islamic Front

5th Mechanized Division[21]
7th Infantry Division[21]
9th Armored Division[21]
10th Armored Division[22]
Strength
2,500[23]

5,000[23]

Casualties and losses
294 killed (Syrian Army claim)[24]
300 killed and wounded (rebel claim)[25]		 63 killed (Syrian Army claim)[26][27][28][29]
43 killed, 10–12 executed, 40 captured (SOHR claim)[5][30][31]
400 killed (rebel claim)[25]

The 2015 Southern Syria offensive, code-named "Operation Martyrs of Quneitra",[32] was an offensive launched in southern Syria during the Syrian Civil War by the Syrian Arab Army, Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces.[33] Government forces also include Iranian sponsored Afghani Shi'ite volunteer militias.[29] The name "Operation Martyrs of Quneitra" refers to the January 2015 Mazraat Amal incident, in which several high level Hezbollah and IRGC members were killed in an Israeli strike.[34]

After Syrian troops and their allies captured 15 towns, villages and hills,[8][9][10] the operation slowed[35] and stalled[25] during attempts to advance on Kafr Shams and Kafr Nasij.[36] The gains by pro-government troops were described as limited,[35] while the pro-Damascus As-Safir reported the gains were a "devastating" defeat for the rebels.[37] Most viewed the offensive as unsuccessful,[38][39][40][41][42] with the rebels "weathering"[43] the "collapsed" offensive.[44]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FSAunits was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference united was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference maqdis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Backed by Iran and Hezbollah, Syrian Forces Claim Victory Near Israeli Border - The Tower". The Tower. 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Syrian opposition claims capture of female Russian soldier". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (16 March 2015). "The Return of Iraqi Shi'i Militias to Syria". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  7. ^ "New militia battles Islamist rebels near Damascus". Associated Press. 8 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference futile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 26members was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference al_Sayyad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b "Defense minister rallies troops in snowy Deraa". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Clashes and bombardment continue in the triangle of Dar'a-Quneitra-Reef Diamshq". Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  13. ^ "archicivilians on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Elijah J. Magnier on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  15. ^ "PICTURES REPORTEDLY PLACE IRANIAN GENERAL IN DARAA". Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  16. ^ sohranas (15 February 2015). "Mustafa Bader al- Din and Qasem Solaymani lead the military operations in the south of Syria". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference mustafa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference twoIRGC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Thomas van Linge on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference tavassoli was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference begins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Map: The Military Situation in North of Daraa Province & SouthWest of RifDimashq Province - February 12, 2015". archicivilians. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Iran Comes to the Israeli Border". Foreign Policy. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  24. ^ 42 killed (9 February),[1] Archived 11 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine [2] Archived 11 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 59 killed (10 February),[3] Archived 11 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine [4] Archived 11 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 12 killed (13 February),[5] Archived 14 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 19 killed (14 February),[6] Archived 15 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 20 killed (16 February),[7] Archived 16 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 22 killed (19 February),[8] Archived 19 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 120 killed (15 March),[9] total of 294 reported killed
  25. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference march was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference virtue was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Leith Fadel. "Hezbollah and Syrian Army capture village near the Golan Heights". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  28. ^ Leith Fadel. "Southern Front Offensive (Update): Syrian Air Force reenters the battle". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  29. ^ a b "Iran mourns 7 Afghans killed fighting for Syria's Assad". Middle East Eye. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  30. ^ "Scores dead in heavy fighting in southern Syria". Daily Star Lebanon. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  31. ^ "الحرس الثوري الإيراني يعدم 12 عنصراً من قوات الأسد". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  32. ^ "New Al-Quneitra offensive gets off to a fast start". Al-Masdar News. 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  33. ^ Noe, Nicholas (12 February 2015). "The Battle for Southern Syria Has Been Joined and a Regional Conflict May Just Be the Main Event". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  34. ^ Herzog, Michael (5 March 2015). "The next battle in the Israel-Hezbollah war is unfolding in southern Syria". Business Insider UK. The Washington Institute For Near East Policy. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  35. ^ a b Perry, Tom; Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (2 April 2015). "As regional war rages, Syria's Assad faces setbacks". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015. But the offensive stalled after some early but limited gains
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference creeping was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ "Jabhat al-Nusra looks for battlefield breakout". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  38. ^ Solomon, Erika; Kerr, Simeon (13 April 2015). "Syria's rebels heartened by healing of Sunni Arab rifts". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015. In the south, opposition forces foiled an offensive led by regime allies from Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia militia, and military advisers from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The opposition has now set its sights on Derra
  39. ^ Blanford, Nicholas (21 August 2011). "Can Syria's Assad withstand latest battlefield setbacks? (+video)". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2015. Furthermore, regime offensives launched in the southern provinces of Deraa and Quneitra and Aleppo in the north have proved unsuccessful.
  40. ^ Lucas, Scott (29 April 2015). "Syria Daily, April 29: Assad Regime — "The Media Are Lying About Rebel Victories"". EA Worldview. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015. In the past three months, the rebels have [...] checked another regime offensive south of Damascus
  41. ^ Kozak, Christopher (29 April 2015). "These are the Assad's regime's 4 biggest military goals in the Syrian Civil War". Business Insider. Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015. Unsuccessful regime attempts to once again shift its campaign towards Dera'a and Quneitra Provinces starting in December 2014 indicated that overall regime offensive capabilities in southern Syria may be waning despite fresh influxes of Iranian proxies to the frontlines.
  42. ^ Chulov, Martin; Shaheen, Kareem (27 April 2015). "Syrian rebels hail fall of Jisr al-Shughour as sign of growing strength". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015. Earlier this year, loyalist offensives in Aleppo, northern Damascus and southern Syria were similarly defeated within days.
  43. ^ Perry, Tom (14 April 2015). "Southern Syria rebels set collision course with al Qaeda". Reuters. Retrieved 14 April 2015. [The Southern Front] has seized a border crossing and a government-held town in recent weeks after weathering a government offensive
  44. ^ Sly, Liz (26 April 2015). "Assad's hold on power looks shakier than ever as rebels advance in Syria". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015. [...] government forces have been proving increasingly ineffective. The collapse of two much-trumpeted offensives earlier this year, in southern Syria and in Aleppo, presaged the success of the recent rebel offensives