Syrian Civil War 2011-2012 - Societa italiana di storia militare

the army exercised restraint in its response in Damascus but that after the bombing, they would use all their weapons to finish the
rebels. [53]
Military counter-attack On 19 July, the military launched an offensive to push back rebel forces that infiltrated Damascus. [54]
Damascus residents reported ongoing shelling of several districts, including Midan and Kafr Souseh. Residents were meanwhile
arming themselves, with many citizens fleeing districts which were hit by ongoing battles. The army removed its checkpoints around
Midan district and the ancient Old City for reasons unknown. [55] Afterwards, opposition groups accused the Syrian army in massacring
100 civilians that had been shot and killed by security forces gunfire during a funeral procession in al-Sayida Zainab on the outskirts
of Damascus. However, later reports by opposition groups revised the toll to at least 60. Meanwhile, the FSA reportedly shelled the
Damascus international airport with mortars 20 times. [20][54] It was reported that the president, Bashar al-Assad, was in the costal city
of Latakia, directing the fighting in Damascus. However, it was unclear if he traveled there from Damascus before or after the
bombing attack. One opposition official stated that they had information he may have been in Latakia for days. Meanwhile, following
the Damascus bombing, his mother and sister went to Tartus. [56] Also, rumors circulated around Damascus that al-Assad's wife, Asma,
had gone to Russia. [57] During the day, al-Assad was shown on state TV attending the swearing-in of his new defense minister. [58][59]
An activist based in the eastern Damascus district Mezze said in interview with The Guardian that rebels had taken control over the
Midan and Qaboun districts with fighting raging in Kafr Souseh and Mezze. He also claimed three tanks were destroyed in Kafr
Souseh by the FSA. [16] Later that day, the Syrian Army stormed the Qaboun district with a large amount of tanks, according to the
opposition group Syrian Observatory, who said the army's move stoked fears of an imminent massacre in the area. Earlier, rebels
attacked the central police command in Old Damascus, killing five officers. [60] That night, Syrian State TV broadcasted footage of
Qaboun, showing the corpses of about 20 dead rebels. [61][62] The opposition group, Syrian Observatory, said that 23 rebels and 47
alleged civilians were killed in Damascus during the day. [8] The following day, security sources told AFP that the Army had launched
a general offensive in Damascus. [63] The Syrian Army continued its counter-attack, storming the quarter of Jobar in Damascus,
searching for rebels. [64] The Syrian official press agency stated that the army inflicted heavy losses on the rebels in Qaboun and that
the Syrian Army regained control of Midan. [65] The rebels confirmed this stating they had been forced to withdraw from Midan after
the army assault. [66][67][68] Rebel fighters stormed and burned the Sa'iqa military camp, which was being used as a training facility, in
the Basateen al-Mezzeh district in central Damascus according to activists. [69] At the end of 20 July, Damascus center and areas
beyond were reported to be under firm government control with some fighting continuing only in the outskirts. [70] The rebels who
were fighting near the Yarbouk camp were overrun by the Army and the Palestinian factions loyal to the government. [71] On 21 July, a
security source told AFP that the Army took control of Tadamoun, Qaboun and Barzeh, in addition to Midan, the previous day, but
that fighting was still ongoing in the Jobar, Kfar Sousa and Mazeeh quarters. It was later confirmed that Barzeh was still rebel-held. [72]
Activists claimed that fighting was still reported in Damascus proper, with clashes in the northern Barzeh and Rukneddine districts
and that a police station was attacked on Khaled bin Waleed street, with an activist saying rebels in Damascus were staging hit-andrun
attacks as opposed to controlling areas. [73] Still, during the morning, the city was largely calm according to residents. SOHR said
the military bombarded the Al-Kaddam and Assali neighborhoods of Damascus. Residents also reported fighting in the Al-Hajar Al-
Aswad and Tadamon districts. [74] Undated online video posted by activists appeared to show the local police station being overrun at
Yarmouk and clashes were reported in the Northern suburb of al-Tal, where the head of the local Political Security Directorate (PSD)
branch and all his staff reportedly surrendered to FSA fighters. [75] 12 civilians were reported killed during the day, seven of them by
sniper fire. [76] However, Reuters confirmed that the city was calm and that the police checkpoints which had been abandonned during
the fighting were back. [77] During the day, Brig. Gen. Nabil Zougheib, a Christian, was assassinated along with his wife and two
sons. [78] Islamic radicals from the rebel group Liwa al-Islam, a Wahhabi group, claimed responsible for the killings. Islamist fighters
from the Muslim Brotherhood also reportedly attacked Iraqi refugees in the southeastern part of the city. [79] On 22 July, fierce fighting
was reported along with intense shelling by reporters. Activists said that helicopter gunships fired rockets into a southern Damascus
neighbourhood. [80] A journalist reported that helicopters were also shelling Barzeh. [81] Later, the Syrian Army led by the Fourth
division stormed the district of Barzeh. [82][83] The Fourth division also routed the rebels out of Mezzeh [84][85] after 1,000 troops entered
the district backed-up by armoured vehicles, tanks and bulldozers. [86] The military continued their advance by forcing the rebels to
withdraw from Rukn al-Din. [87] State media reported that the soldiers were pursuing the last remnants of the rebels. [88] By the end of
the day, activists confirmed that Barzeh was also overrun by government troops and that at least five young men, possibly rebels,
were summarily executed. [86][89] The rebel operation to capture Damascus seemed close to collapse according to a journalist [90] and
activists reported that army soldiers executed at least 20 unarmed men in Mezzeh that they suspected of aiding rebels. [91] Syrian State
media showed graphic images of foreign Arab fighters killed in Qaboun, including two Egyptians and three Jordanians, identified by
their identity papers. [92] The next day, the bodies of 23 people, who were reportedly "executed" in Mezze and Barzeh, were found,
some of which had torture marks. [93] Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed that president Assad, along with his family, was still in
the capital, contradicting earlier reports that they left the city for Latakia. [94]
FSA retreat On 23 July, the government declared most of the rebel forces that attacked the capital to be defeated. [79][95] An opposition
activist confirmed this by saying that government troops had taken control of almost all of the capital. [96] Following this, there were
disagreements between rebel commanders about the opportunity of having launched the Damascus battle as rebel colonel Riad Al
Asaad disagreed with rebel colonel Qassim Saadedine who started the operation. [97] The opposition activist group SOHR stated that
94 people were killed during the previous two days of fighting. [10] A man claiming to be a civilian from Midan said "Midan is back to
normal. There were some militias who tried to control the neighbourhood, but the army came in. The [rebel] fighters were from
outside Midan. Now it is free of all military opposition presence." In regards to the reported executions he said "I can't confirm or
deny it. But I don't think execute is the right word. These people are fighters. They are not civilians. If they were killed it doesn't mean
they were executed, and they were not captured and then killed. They were killed during the operation." He also added that Mezzeh
was not fully under government control, with the eastern orchard being a hideout for rebels. He added "People are being encouraged
to come back to Damascus. There's been a big media campaign by al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya making people believe that the whole
area was under rebel control, but they only controlled some streets." Asked about Assad's whereabouts he said "I know he is in
Damascus. The new minister of defence took the oath of office in the presidential palace with the president. This is the same room
they have used for years." [98] However, other civilians were terrified for Government reprisals to speak openly in front of a camera.
Alex Thompson stated that in his journey to Midan terrified locals told him that "They used cannons, mortar, machine guns, tanks,
they used helicopters – they use everything against us." Others said that the pro-Government milita, shabiba, massacred a family of