The director of Ajnad ash-Sham Islamic Union’s information office, Abu Jamal, told al-Souria Net that the Hermon Army made progress in the areas of at-Tilal al-Humr and Tal Bazzaq, linking the northeastern countryside of Quneitra with western Ghouta.
Abu Jamal added that the Hermon Army has besieged the Druze town of Hadar near the Syrian town of Majdal Shams, occupied by Israel in the Golan Heights.
“The town’s capture will allow rebel forces to progress toward the town of Beit Jin, located at the bottom of Mount Hermon and the border region with southeastern Lebanon", Abu Jamal said.
In a related development, the commanders of the Hermon Army sent a message to the Druze community, stating: "Our brothers in the Druze villages, we want you to refrain from sending your sons to fight the Hermon Army, as the regime seeks to put them on the frontlines in order to create an atmosphere of fighting between our brothers". The message coincided with a statement by a Ajnad ash-Sham Islamic Union military commander, claiming: "The Hermon Army is determined to cleanse the area of the regime and his gang. The attack is large and sudden, and the operation may decide the fate of western Ghouta, where some cities have been destroyed, in addition to the severe siege applied on it for years".
The province of Quneitra is a hotly contested area located 70 kilometers southwest of the capital, Damascus.
Syrian opposition forces announced on June 16 the formation of the Hermon Army, an alliance of rebel factions, which recently seized the area of at-Tilal al-Humr, an area extending between the countryside of Damascus in the west and Quneitra province.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
