Siege of Eastern Ghouta

Siege of Eastern Ghouta
Part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign,
and the Syrian civil war

Aerial bombardment of Eastern Ghouta by the Syrian Air Force on 8 February 2018
Date7 April 2013[2] – 14 April 2018[8][9][10]
(5 years and 1 week)
Location
Eastern Ghouta, Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria
Result

Syrian Army and allies victory

Territorial
changes		 Syrian Army captures the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta pocket[12][13]
Belligerents

Jaysh al-Islam Surrendered[1]
Al-Rahman Legion Surrendered[2]
Ahrar al-Sham Surrendered[2]
Tahrir al-Sham Surrendered[2]
Free Syrian Army  Surrendered

Jaysh al-Ummah Surrendered (2014–15)

Syrian Arab Republic

 Iran
 Russia (since 2015)
Allied militias:
Hezbollah
Palestinian Syrian militias
LAAG
Arab Nationalist Guard[3]
Liwa Fatemiyoun[4]
Lions of Hussein[5]

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013 – July 2014)[6]

  • Ansar al-Sharia (Allegedly, by al-Nusra)[7]
Commanders and leaders

Zahran Alloush †

Essam al-Buwaydhani Surrendered
Abdul al-Nasr Shamir Surrendered		 Syria Colonel Ghayath Dalla
Syria Suheil al-Hassan		 Unknown
Units involved

Jaysh al-Islam

  • Military Council of Damascus and its Suburbs

Al-Rahman Legion

  • Al-Bara Brigade
  • Glory Brigades
    • Abu Musa al-Shari Brigade
  • Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union (Eastern Ghouta branch)
    • Al-Habib al-Mustafa Brigade
  • 101st Battalion

Ahrar al-Sham

  • Fajr al-Umma Brigade (independent group prior to 2017)

Free Syrian Army

  • 1st Brigade of Damascus

Syrian Army

National Defence Forces
Syrian Air Force
Palestinian Syrian militias

Russian Armed Forces

Unknown
Strength
10,000 (in 2016)[23]
20,000 (in 2018)[24][25]		 15,000 (in 2018)[15] Unknown
Casualties and losses
10,000+ killed (2012–18)[26] 10,000+ killed (2012–18)[26] Unknown
~20,000 killed civilians
(March 2011 to February 2018, per SNHR)[27]
~30,000 killed overall
(Eastern Ghouta hospital sources, 2017)[28]
105,000[29]–140,000[30] displaced (2018)

The siege of Eastern Ghouta was a siege that was laid by Syrian Government forces in April 2013,[2] to the area in eastern Ghouta held by anti-government forces since November 2012, during the Syrian civil war. The cities and villages under siege were Douma, Mesraba, Arbin, Hamouria, Saqba, Modira, Eftreis, Jisrin, as well as suburbs of Damascus Beit Sawa, Harasta, Zamalka, Ein Tarma, Hizzah and Kafr Batna.[31] By 2016, around 400,000 people were trapped in an area just over 100 square kilometres in size,[23] thus with a population density around 4,000 inhabitants/km2.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2401, adopted on February 28, 2018, called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria for 30 days, including Eastern Ghouta, but the Syrian Army continued the offensive. In March 2018, the Syrian Army split the enclave into three parts, reaching an agreement with the rebels to withdraw to the north, to Idlib. This action displaced 105,000 people from the area. Douma was the only city left by the end of that month that was not under Syrian government control.

On April 8, 2018, on the anniversary of the 2017 sarin gas Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, an agreement had been reached to evacuate remaining fighters and civilians from the last rebel-controlled pocket of Douma following the chemical weapons attack that reportedly killed 70 people, and injured 500 who displayed symptoms of "toxic gas" exposure.[32][33][34] The Syrian Government denied responsibility, together with its allies involved in the war: Russia and Iran. More than 50,000 people, including fighters from the Jaish al-Islam and their families, have been evacuated out of the city as part of the deal, to northern Syria.[1] Around 200 hostages loyal to the Syrian Government have reportedly been released by the rebels. Russian military police were deployed to Douma to enforce the agreement.[35]

Thousands of people were killed during this 5-year siege period. Numerous allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity[30] were made during the siege, among others from the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the use of prohibited weapons, attacks on civilians, attacks against protected objects (schools, hospitals), starvation as a method of warfare and denial of medical evacuation.

  1. ^ a b "Syrian rebels evacuated from Douma reach northwest: monitor". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic—Thirty-seventh session" (PDF). United Nations Human Rights Council. 1 February 2018. pp. 20–25. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b Leith Aboufadel (9 March 2018). "Virtual map of East Ghouta battle: September 2015–Present". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Regime sends more forces to Ghouta as UN decries 'apocalypse' in Syria". Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  5. ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (14 February 2016). "Liwa Usud al-Hussein: A New Pro-Assad Militia in Latakia". Syria Comment. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  6. ^ Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad. "The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham". www.aymennjawad.org.
  7. ^ ""داعش ـ 2" تحالفات سرية وخلايا نائمة" [ISIS-2: secret alliances and sleeper cell]. www.lebanon-daily.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 12 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Western airstrikes unlikely to impact Assad's war machine". ABC News. Associated Press.
  9. ^ "Syrian army declares full control of Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "East Ghouta officially under the Syrian Army's control after last militant convoy leaves Douma". Archived from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  11. ^ "Security Council discusses chemical weapons use in Syria following latest global watchdog report". UN News. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  12. ^ Ensor, Josie (12 April 2018). "Syrian flag flying over onetime rebel stronghold Douma as Russians announce victory in Eastern Ghouta". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Syrian government raises flag in Douma – Russian agencies". Reuters. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Confirmed: Syrian Army's full order of battle for east Damascus offensive". Al-Masdar News. 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Over 15,000 Syrian military personnel deployed to East Ghouta for upcoming offensive". Al-Masdar News. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  16. ^ Leith Aboufadel (21 January 2018). "Syrian Army scores major advance in east Damascus". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  17. ^ a b Andrew Illingworth (24 February 2018). "VIDEO: New Syrian Army armored division heads towards east Damascus with over 100 tanks, armored fighting vehicles". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  18. ^ Leith Aboufadel (1 March 2018). "Over 2,000 Palestinian fighters deploy to Damascus for East Ghouta offensive (photos)". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Member of the 'General Command' dies in the eastern Ghouta clashes". Action Group for Palestinians of Syria. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Free Palestine Movement mourns one of its members". Action Group for Palestinians of Syria. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  21. ^ a b c "Pro-Government Palestinian Factions Lay off Scores of Gunmen". Action Group for Palestinians of Syria. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Breaking: Russian airpower pulverizes militant defenses across east Damascus amid sudden entry into major offensive". Al-Masdar. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  23. ^ a b Tom Rollins (18 December 2016). "The unravelling of Syria's Eastern Ghouta". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  24. ^ "Both sides committed war crimes during Eastern Ghouta siege: UN". Middle East Eye. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  25. ^ "Thousands of Well-Armed Rebel Fighters Are in Syria's Ghouta". The New York Times. Associated Press. 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. ^ a b "Map update: Syrian Army takes last rebel-held district of East Ghouta, ends six year battle". Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  27. ^ "Approximately 13,000 Civilians Killed at the Hands of Syrian Regime Forces in Eastern Ghouta, including 1,463 Children" (PDF). SNHR. February 25, 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  28. ^ Madjid Zerrouky (26 October 2017). "En Syrie, les faubourgs rebelles de Damas affamés". Le Monde.fr (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  29. ^ "Over 105,000 civilians have fled Syria's Eastern Ghouta". France24. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  30. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference barbaric was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "Eastern Ghouta Syria: The neighbourhoods below the bombs". BBC News. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  32. ^ Sheena McKenzie; Tamara Qiblawi; Fred Pleitgen. "Syria claims it wasn't behind Saturday's chemical attack, but others disagree". CNN. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  33. ^ "The Latest: Russia says deal struck for rebels to exit Douma". NZ Herald. 2018-04-08. ISSN 1170-0777. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  34. ^ Syrian opposition and Russia reach agreement over Douma Sky News, 08 April 2018
  35. ^ "Scores of rebels, hostages leave Syria's Douma under deal: state media". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-04-10.