Since capturing the imperative industrial city of ‘Adra in the East Ghouta, the Syrian Arab Army’s 105th Brigade of the Republican Guard has intensified its offensive in this rural area of the Rif Dimashq Governate, carrying out successful sieges in many of the villages near the provincial capital of Damascus. Earlier today, the 105th Brigade captured two more villages in the East Ghouta, taking control of Al-Mayda’a in the east and Hawash Al-Farah in the north.
With the capture of Hawash Al-Farah and Al-Mayda’a today, the 105th Brigade has now entered the predominately thicket area of the East Ghouta, where trees greatly outnumber people in these villages. The condensed forests of the East Ghouta will create much difficulty for the SAA’s infantry due to the rugged terrain that leaves their tanks immobile in some areas. The Syrian Air Force will be forced to carry out more frequent attacks to substitute for the lack of heavy armory.
While some soldiers from the 105th Brigade enter a new frontier in the east, their comrades in west continue to engage Jaysh Al-Islam militants in the suburban neighborhoods of Jobar, Douma, ‘Arbeen, Zamalka, and ‘Ayn Tarma. Of the aforementioned cities, Jobar and Douma present the biggest challenge for the 105th Brigade, as the entrenched Jaysh Al-Islam fighters refuse to concede territory to the encroaching SAA. The siege of Jobar has lasted for over two months, with the SAA gaining little parcels of land each week; meanwhile, the Douma battle is still in its beginning stages.
