Chronicle of the Civil War in Syria 2020

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Outline map of the civil war in Syria
  • Held by government forces
  • Held by the Free Syrian Army , Islamist militias and Turkish units
  • Held by the jihadist Jabhat Fatah ash-shame
  • Held by the Syrian Democratic Forces

    • The chronicle of the civil war in Syria 2020 records the events of the civil war in Syria in 2020. The chronicle of the civil war in Syria since 2011 was documented in special, annual articles.

    January

    Presidents Assad and Putin with Defense Ministers Ayyoub and Schoigu on January 7, 2020
    Syrian offensive from November 2019 to the end of January 2020

    On January 1, fighter planes continued their attacks on targets in Idlib governorate . According to SOHR activists, artillery shelled the immediate vicinity of the Turkish observation post at Maarhtat, a suburb of Maarat an-Numan . In Sarmin ( 35 ° 54'12 "N 36 ° 43'33" E ) a missile hit a school building, killing five children and four adults, according to SOHR. An SS-21 guided missile apparently fell in an olive grove near Sarmin during this attack without exploding.

    On January 8, insurgents in the eastern part of Idlib conquered three villages in a counterattack; according to SOHR observers, troops loyal to the government retook all the villages on the same day. 27 government soldiers and militiamen as well as 18 rebel fighters, 14 of them from jihadist groups, were killed. Furthermore, on January 8, several Turkish soldiers were killed in two car bomb explosions in two villages in the vicinity of Raʾs al-ʿAin . SOHR activists reported five soldiers killed and nine wounded, and the Turkish Ministry of Defense confirmed four dead.

    On January 9, eight fighters from a pro-Iranian militia were killed in an air strike in eastern Syria near Albu Kamal , according to SOHR . The US denied responsibility for the attack.

    On January 12, a ceasefire between Russia and Turkey came into force in Idlib.

    On January 14, the T4 base was attacked by planes with rockets, according to the Syrian state media. Israel was responsible for the attack. The machines had flown in from the direction of at-Tanf , there was property damage, but no victims in the attack. According to Israeli estimates, the base is used by Iranian fighters and allied militias.

    On January 15, according to SOHR, Syrian warplanes attacked a market and an industrial area in the city of Idlib . 21 civilians were killed.

    On 22-23 On January 1st, Syrian and Russian state media reported a rebel offensive in Idlib, in which two villages were captured by the insurgents and 40 members of the government troops were killed. According to Russian reports, various groups were involved in the offensive, including fighters from the HTS and the Islamic Turkestan Party . A rebel representative, however, denied that such attacks had taken place.

    On January 28th, SOHR activists reported that government troops had reached the outskirts of Maarat an-Numan from three directions. 120,000 people have fled the region since mid-January. According to eyewitness reports, large parts of the city itself had been destroyed by air strikes and artillery fire in the days before.

    On January 29, pro-government Syrian media announced the capture of Maarat an-Numan by government troops. Rebel fighters withdrew from the city on January 28, according to SOHR.

    On January 30, the Syrian state media reported on the conquest of further villages near Maarat an-Numan. Rebel fighters who had left the city along the Aleppo-Damascus (M5) motorway in the direction of Saraqib in the previous days were tracked down by army units. According to Syrian media, the Turkish armed forces are said to have set up a new observation post near the city of Saraqib later that day in order to prevent further advance of the Syrian army. Also on January 30th, Ariha was targeted by air strikes in Idlib. According to SOHR, 10 civilians died in the attack by Russian fighter jets.

    At the end of January, the Russian Air Force destroyed one of the last hospitals in Idlib Governorate as part of its military operation in Syria .

    The Syrian-Russian offensive is also supported by tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Iraq, which was set up by the Iranian Quds Brigade .

    At the end of January 2020, the UN reported that around 520,000 people in Idlib had fled since December 2019. In December, more than 235,000 people fled south of the city of Idlib to the north of the governorate, to the cities of Ariha , Idlib and Saraqib or to already overcrowded refugee camps on the border with Turkey. A UN resolution on the delivery of aid via Turkey to the border region of Syria was blocked by Russia and China in the Security Council.

    February

    Front course (red: Russian-Syrian     regime loyalty , green: Free Syrian Army , Islamist militias (such as Haiat Tahrir al-Scham ) and observation posts of the Turkish armed forces )

    On February 2, the Turkish government pulled up tanks and armored vehicles on its side of the border with Idlib Governorate near Reyhanlı .

    On February 3, at least five Turkish soldiers and three Turkish civilians were killed in shelling by Syrian government forces near Saraqib. The Turks, as part of the Turkish presence in Idlib, were on the move as reinforcements when they were shot at. The Turkish government said that Russian authorities had been given advance notice of the movements by Turkey. In retaliation, air strikes were carried out on Syrian military targets. According to SOHR activists, 13 Syrians were killed in the Turkish air strikes.

    On February 5, the Turkish President threatened military intervention in Syria if Syrian government troops and their allies in Idlib did not withdraw beyond the demarcation line agreed in 2018 by the end of the month. According to OCHA estimates, 520,000 people have fled the government troops' offensive in Idlib since December 1, 2019 . Advancing government troops had meanwhile reached the outskirts of Saraqib from several directions and penetrated into the city. According to SOHR, the offensive was initially pushed back by the Turkish air strikes and a counterattack by the rebels.

    In the first hours of February 6, SOHR estimates that 12 pro-Iranian fighters were killed near Damascus in several air strikes on various targets. The suburbs al-Kiswah, Marj al-Sultan and Jisr Baghdad were hit. Syrian state media blamed Israel for the attacks. Four F-16 fighter-bombers had launched eight missiles from outside Syrian airspace. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Israelis had used an Airbus A320 passenger aircraft coming from Iran , which was approaching Damascus, as cover in front of the Syrian air defense for their attack. According to the Russian account, this is now a common tactic used by the Israeli air force.

    On February 8, Saraqib was in the hands of the Syrian government forces. According to SOHR, Turkish reinforcements crossed the border into Idlib from Turkey with several hundred vehicles.

    On February 10, Turkish troops came under fire from Syrian troops again, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. According to press research, five Turkish soldiers were killed by targeted Syrian artillery fire at the Taftanaz military airfield ( 35 ° 58'20 "N 36 ° 46'59" E ) in Idlib. In retaliation, more than a hundred military targets were attacked in Syria, killing more than a hundred Syrian soldiers.

    On February 11, with the support of the Turkish armed forces, rebels launched an attack on the town of an-Nairab ( 35 ° 52′12 ″ N 36 ° 43′08 ″ E ) near the city of Sarāqib. The town was briefly under the control of the rebels before the Syrian forces recaptured it later that day. A Syrian Army Mi-17 helicopter was shot down during the fighting , killing three Syrian soldiers. On the same day, after further fighting, the strategically important M5 motorway, which runs from Damascus to Aleppo, came completely under the control of Syrian government troops.

    On February 12, east of Qamishli , a US patrol in the area of ​​Khirbet Ammu came across an area that had been under the control of Syrian government troops since the beginning of the civil war. Angry residents and Syrian soldiers pressed the convoy at a checkpoint where the Americans could no longer move because one of their armored trucks got stuck. Shots were fired and a Syrian was killed, according to the Syrian state broadcaster SANA. Russian troops finally arrived and tried to calm the Syrians down.

    According to SOHR, four Iranians and three Syrians were killed in air strikes on targets near Damascus on the night of February 13-14, 2020. An arsenal was hit at Damascus airport shortly after a transport flight from Tehran arrived there. The SOHR activists and the Syrian government blamed Israel for the attack. On February 14, the Syrian state media reported the shooting down of another helicopter belonging to the government forces. The machine was said to have been hit by a rocket and crashed at Urum al-Kubra ( 36 ° 08'52 "N 36 ° 56'52" E ). All crew members were killed.

    In mid-February 2020, the World Food Program (WFP) reported more than 140,000 refugees within a week in February because of the Russian-Syrian military operation , so that a total of 800,000 people in Idlib had fled since December 2018. According to the WFP, 80% of them are women and children. Alone near the city of Idlib, according to the UN , 80,000 refugees live in unheated tents at sub-zero temperatures due to a lack of suitable accommodation; this resulted in deaths from cold .

    On February 19, according to diplomats, representatives of Russia prevented the UN Security Council from issuing a statement calling for a ceasefire in Syria and a call for compliance with international humanitarian law .

    On February 20, two Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike in Idlib. In an attack by rebels on an-Nairab, according to Russian information, the attackers broke through the Syrian lines with the help of Turkish artillery fire. According to Russian information, the government troops then requested air support from Russia. Two Su-24 bombers then helped push the attackers back.

    On February 23, the Israeli Air Force, according to its own statements, attacked targets near Damascus that were classified as part of the Islamic Jihad group in Palestine . The attacks were flown out of Gaza in response to rocket fire. The group produced the rocket fuel ammonium perchlorate in the complex near Damascus . According to SOHR, several of the Israeli missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defenses, but according to the press, military analysts often claim that this is not the case. According to SOHR, positions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were also attacked.

    On February 24, insurgents with Turkish support launched a counterattack in Idlib and, according to Turkish media reports, brought the site an-Nairab back under their control. Dozens of fighters loyal to the government were killed, according to SOHR.

    Six schools and two health stations in Idlib were hit by air strikes on February 25 , according to the White Helmets . 21 people were killed. In addition, the Syrian army captured over a dozen cities and villages southwest of Maarat an-Numan , including the symbolically important city of Kafranbel , one of the first cities to rebel against the government.

    On February 27, 2020, rebels with Turkish support captured the city of Saraqib . As a result, the M5 motorway, which was considered to be strategically important, was no longer fully under the control of government troops, and the connection from Damascus to Aleppo was interrupted. Among other things, the insurgents had deployed special forces from Chechen Islamists against the place. Government forces counterattacked with air support. According to official Turkish information, at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in various air strikes by Syrian warplanes during the day. The largest group was killed when they were caught by an air strike in a town hall and buried in rubble. A Turkish government spokesman announced retaliatory attacks on Syrian positions. Foreign observers viewed the escalation with concern as a major conflict loomed between NATO member Turkey and Russia, the supporter of the Assad government in Syria. The fighting over Idlib had led to the flight of around one million Syrians from their homes since December 2019.

    At Quneitra , a man was killed by an Israeli drone attack on the same day, according to Syrian state media. Israeli media assumed that it was a supporter of Hezbollah .

    At least 16 soldiers from the Syrian armed forces died in Turkish retaliatory attacks the following day .

    On February 28, Turkish media reported that officials had stated that the police and coast guard would no longer prevent refugees from entering Europe for the time being. The burden from the refugees is too great for one country to bear it alone. On the same day there was a special meeting of NATO at the request of Turkey under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty .

    On the morning of February 29, a meeting of pro-government officers in Syria south of Aleppo was attacked with the help of Turkish drones. 10 officers were killed and 20 other people were injured according to the opposition. A Syrian government website announced the deaths of two generals, a colonel and a number of other officers. The Turkish government announced the destruction of the Syrian government's military infrastructure: chemical weapons plant, air defense systems, runways, weapon depots and aircraft hangars had been destroyed. More than 300 military vehicles were reportedly destroyed, including more than 90 tanks. 56 government troops were also killed. SOHR activists reported 48 deaths to government forces and militias allied with them within 24 hours.

    March

    Plan for a security zone 6 km on both sides of the M4 expressway, as agreed on March 5 between Presidents Erdoğan and Putin

    On March 1, Turkish forces reportedly shot down two Su-24 bombers from the Syrian government over Idlib. Previously, Syrian warplanes shot down a Turkish drone. Syrian state media said their pilots could have saved themselves with parachutes. This began an offensive by the Turkish armed forces, which they named Operation Spring Shield . At Maarrat Misrin ( 36 ° 00'43 "N 36 ° 40'19" E ), rescue workers reported that four civilians were killed in air strikes by government forces. According to independent media, armed insurgents rose against the Syrian army in Darʿā governorate .

    On March 2, the Syrian state media announced the recapture of Saraqib . After heavy fighting, the troops of the "terrorists" and those of the "Turkish regime" have been driven out and the town is now being searched for remaining enemies. Observers, however, saw control of the place as divided, with government-loyal Syrian troops taking control of the industrial area to the east of Saraqib, while insurgents in the residential areas to the west held their positions.

    On March 3, the Turkish military announced that a Syrian Aero L-39 had been shot down by a Turkish aircraft over southern Idlib.

    On the night of March 4th to 5th, at 2:30 a.m. local time north of Idlib City, there was an air strike on a poultry farm where refugees were housed. According to information provided by first aiders, several rockets struck at different times, so that the second wave of attacks hit those who had come together. A total of 15 civilians were killed. SOHR activists also reported that before sunrise, Israeli air strikes had taken place on two Syrian airfields near Homs and a target near Quneitra , all of which are attributed to Hezbollah .

    On March 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan negotiated a ceasefire for Idlib in the Moscow Kremlin . This stipulates that a ceasefire will commence in Idlib Governorate at the beginning of March 6 and that a 12-kilometer-wide corridor will be created along the connecting road M4 within a week , which will be controlled by joint patrols by the Russian and Turkish armies from March 15 becomes.

    On March 12, the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced the extensive agreement with Russia on details of the ceasefire.

    On March 15, troops of the Russian Federation and soldiers of the Turkish army began the joint patrols agreed at the beginning of March on the M4, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense. Activists blocked the M4, however, so that the patrol could not continue, according to Russian information.

    On March 19, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that two Turkish soldiers had been killed in a missile attack in northwestern Idlib. Unspecified “radical groups” were responsible for the attack.

    On March 21, the army command ordered increased readiness for the military hospitals of the Syrian army due to the COVID-19 pandemic and banned unnecessary gatherings such as sporting events. On March 22, Health Minister Nizar Yazji officially announced the first case of COVID-19 in Syria, which was found in a 20-year-old woman when she entered Syria.

    On March 30, Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on a target in central Syria. Several missiles were intercepted and no damage occurred. Opposition media reported that the target was al-Sharyat airport near Homs, which is used by the Iranian military.

    April

    On April 9, fighters from the Islamic State launched a large-scale attack on the Syrian desert city of As-Suchna in the Homs governorate . With the help of the Russian air force, the Syrian army managed to repel the attack. According to SOHR, 27 Syrian soldiers and 22 IS fighters were killed.

    On April 21, Syrian state media announced that several Israeli missiles had been intercepted over Palmyra . SOHR activists assumed an Israeli air strike on Iranian troops near Palmyra.

    Israeli missiles were intercepted again on April 27, according to Syrian government. It was on its way to targets near Damascus. Little damage was caused to the Mezzeh air force base. Four Iranian militiamen and three civilians were killed, according to SOHR.

    On April 28, a tank truck that had been converted into a bomb exploded in a market square in Afrin, which was occupied by militia loyal to Turkey . SOHR activists counted at least 46 dead and 50 wounded, most of them civilians. No one initially confessed to the attack, the Turkish authorities accused Kurdish fighters.

    May

    On May 1, the Syrian state media reported an early morning attack by Israeli attack helicopters that hit Syrian positions in the Golan Heights . The helicopters had fired rockets from Israeli-controlled airspace and only property damage had occurred. On the same day, a large explosion occurred in an arms depot near Homs . Syrian state media cited human error as the cause , but according to SOHR, Israel is responsible for the explosion. The Syrian news agency SANA reported at least ten people injured.

    According to SOHR, at least 14 fighters from Iranian and allied militias were killed in air strikes near the town of al-Mayadin near Deir ez-Zor on the night of May 4th and 5th . The activists suspected Israel was behind the attacks.

    June

    On June 2nd and 3rd, according to SOHR assessments, fighter planes of the Russian Federation attacked targets in Idlib. It was the first air raid of its kind since March. The plain of Sahl al-Ghab north of Hama was hit, according to the White Helmets.

    According to SOHR, Israeli fighter planes attacked an alleged arms factory near Masyaf on the night of June 3rd to 4th . Nine people were killed. According to press reports, the planes had flown into Lebanon and launched their missiles from there.

    On June 8, fighter jets assigned by activists to the Russian Federation attacked villages in the Jabal al-Zawiya region and, as before, in Sahl al-Ghab. At least two civilians were killed, according to the White Helmets.

    On June 23, Israeli warplanes attacked multiple targets across Syrian territory. According to SOHR assessments, an onion factory was hit in Salamiyah near Hama , which the Iranian militias had taken over and partially converted into an arsenal, while the rest of the operation continued to operate normally. Another Iranian weapons depot in the Hama region was attacked near Aqrab. According to the activists, it was hidden in a feed factory. In central Syria near Deir ez-Zor , the Syrian state media reported that rockets had hit Kababej. Two soldiers were killed in the process. In As-Suwayda Governorate in the south another means had been attacked, there were two Syrian soldiers were killed. SOHR activists reported that the attack at Deir ez-Zor had destroyed communications systems. A Syrian soldier and five Iranian fighters were killed.

    On June 27, there was an air strike from a military facility near the Iraqi border. Six fighters were killed according to SOHR estimates, including four Syrian citizens. Hours earlier, the Iranian general Esmail Ghaani , successor to Qassem Soleimani, had visited Iranian troops in the area. The attack was attributed to the Israeli Air Force.

    On June 28, there were air strikes on targets near Deir ez-Zor in the al-Siyal desert. The attacks apparently targeted Iranian militias. SOHR activists attributed the attack to Israel. Nine pro-Iranian militiamen were killed, according to the organization.

    July

    On July 7, Russia and China prevented the UN Security Council with their veto a resolution , the UN relief supplies to Syria on a number of border crossings should allow. The resolution introduced by Germany and Belgium should have been a follow-up regulation for the permission to open two Turkish border crossings in January for six months. Russia and China believed that aid should be distributed through President Assad's government and that the international community should better lift sanctions against that government. UN representative Mark Lowcock estimated in June 2020 that 2.8 million residents of north-west Syria are dependent on humanitarian aid. A few days later, after several unsuccessful votes, the Security Council agreed to continue aid to Syria under Russia's terms, according to which only the Bab al-Hawa border crossing would remain open for international aid for a period of twelve months.

    On July 14th, a joint patrol consisting of Russian and Turkish soldiers near Ariha was hit by an IED . Three Russian and several Turkish soldiers were injured and two armored vehicles were damaged.

    On July 23, Israeli forces attacked targets of the Syrian military in Syria near the border with attack helicopters. Three targets were hit and two soldiers were wounded according to the Syrian state media. This was preceded by an explosion in Majdal Shams , which was attributed to failed anti-aircraft fire or artillery fire from Syria, but which did not claim any victims.

    On July 26, 8 people, including 6 civilians , died in an explosion at a vegetable market in Raʾs al-ʿAin, which was occupied by pro-Turkish militias .

    On July 28, a bomb, which SOHR claims was attached to a motorcycle, exploded in Raʾs al-ʿAin. 2 civilians and a militiaman were killed.

    On July 30, according to the Turkish state media, a car bomb exploded in Tal Halaf near Raʾs al-ʿAin, which was occupied by militias loyal to Ankara. 5 people were killed and 12 others were injured. SOHR activists said the number of victims was 9 dead and 15 injured.

    August

    On the night of August 2-3, Israeli forces attacked a group of four people who were tampering with the border fence in the Golan Heights. According to a report from the Israeli military, they tried to place explosives.

    According to SOHR activists, Russian fighter planes attacked targets in the vicinity of Binnish ( 35 ° 57'00 "N 36 ° 42'00" E ) in Idlib with rockets on August 3 . Three refugees were killed and another person was wounded. In the vicinity of the Jabal al-Akrad heights ( 35 ° 39'50 "N 36 ° 12'05" E ), according to SOHR, HTS fighters thwarted an attempt by troops loyal to the government to infiltrate into the rebel area. 12 attackers and 6 defenders were killed, and a further 17 regime fighters were wounded.

    On August 17, the Syrian armed forces reported one dead and two wounded soldiers after a checkpoint south of the city of Qamishli was attacked by helicopters of the coalition forces. American soldiers had previously been denied access to the checkpoint. Islamist fighters from Al-Fateh al-Mubin attacked a meeting of loyalists near Saraqib with a guided missile , injuring several participants according to SOHR. According to SOHR, artillery of the government troops shelled half a dozen villages in the south of Idlib, in the north-west insurgents shelled a position of the government troops in the Jabal al-Akrad heights.

    On August 23, a central oil pipeline in the north-east of Damascus was interrupted. Without the oil supply, three power plants failed and there was a power outage in parts of the country. According to official announcements, terrorists had blown the pipeline in the suburbs of Adra and al-Dhamir.

    Web links

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ Turkish points respond to regime's targeting for one of their points in the “de-escalation” area, and ground-to-ground missiles target the western countryside of Idlib causing casualties. syriahr.com from January 1, 2020.
    2. ↑ Deaths in rocket attack on school buildings in northern Syria. welt.de from January 2, 2020.
    3. ↑ Syria: five children killed in missile strike on displacement camp. The Guardian January 4, 2020.
    4. ↑ 45 members of regime forces, opposition factions and jihadists killed in today's battles east of Idlib. syriahr.com from January 8, 2020.
    5. ↑ Nearly 15 Turkish soldiers killed or injured in yesterday's bomb attacks in rural Ras Al-Ayn. syriahr.com from January 9, 2020.
    6. ↑ 8 said killed in airstrike on pro-Iranian militia in eastern Syria. timesofisrael.com from January 10, 2020.
    7. ↑ Victoria Gatenby: Syria's ceasefire comes into force in Idlib province. Aljazeera from January 12, 2020.
    8. ↑ Syria says Israeli aircraft strike base thought used by Iranian forces. Times of Israel of January 14, 2020.
    9. ↑ Syrian airstrikes in Idlib leave at least 21 dead despite ceasefire. theguardian.com from January 16, 2020.
    10. ^ Rebels kill dozens of soldiers in Syria's Idlib: State media. aljazeera.com from January 23, 2020.
    11. ^ Thousands flee northwest Syria as Assad pushes towards Idlib. aljazeera.com from January 28, 2020.
    12. ↑ Syrian army takes Maaret al-Numan after heavy bombardment. aljazeera.com from January 29, 2020.
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    30. ^ Syrian forces capture new areas from insurgents. The Guardian February 8, 2020.
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    45. ↑ Turkey-backed fighters recapture key town in Syria's Idlib. aljazeera.com from February 25, 2020.
    46. ↑ Bethan McKernan: Syria: 21 dead as targets including schools and nurseries bombed in Idlib. The Guardian February 26, 2020.
    47. ↑ The government army recaptures symbolically important cable. Retrieved February 26, 2020 .
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    61. ↑ التركي .. مقتل ضباط كبار بقوات الأسد وخسائر موجعة بصفوف حزب الله aljazeera.net from February 29, 2020.
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    63. ↑ Der Spiegel: Turkey announces military offensive against Syrian army. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
    64. ↑ clashes in Daraa evoke memories of the start of the Syrian revolution. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
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    66. ↑ Turkey shoots down Syrian fighter aircraft. faz.net of March 3, 2020.
    67. ↑ Linah Alsaafin: At least 15 displaced Syrians killed in Idlib air attack. aljazeera.com from March 5, 2020.
    68. ^ Judah Ari Gross: No injuries or damage at the site of Israeli strikes in Syria - report. timesofisrael.com from March 5, 2020.
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    73. ^ Rocket attack in northwest Syria kills two Turkish soldiers.
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