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Battle of Damascus (2012)
Part of the Syrian uprising
Date 15 July 2012 - ongoing Location Damascus, Syria Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army	Syrian government Syrian Army Shabiha
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Bashar al-Assad Dawoud Rajiha † Assef Shawkat  † Fahd Jassem al-Freij Maher al-Assad Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar
Units involved
Falcons of Damascus Brigade elements from Idlib, Raqqa, Hama and Homs groups	4th Armoured Division Republican Guard elements of other divisions
Strength
2,500 fighters 300 fighters (Qaboun area)	Unknown
Casualties and losses
80 killed, 15 wounded, 145 captured, 14 vehicles destroyed (government claim)	70 killed, 130 wounded, 1 AV destroyed and 1 captured, 1 helicopter shot down (opposition claim)
14 civilians killed

The Battle of Damascus, also known as Operation Damascus Volcano, started on 15 July 2012 during the Syrian uprising. It is unclear who started it. Per some reports thousands of rebels attacked the capital from the surrounding countryside while per others the military learned of the large-scale rebel operation beforehand and made a preemptive strike.

Battle

On 15 July, fierce fighting was reported in some quarters of central Damascus as the army moved in to dislodge rebels. The rebels fighting were the ones who were routed from Douma and other suburbs and fled to Damascus itself. Fighting also closed the road leading from central Damascus to airport.

On 16 July, for a second day, heavy clashes in the southern Midan and Tadhamon districts of Damascus raged with the military managing to surround the rebel forces in the area and sending tanks and other armored vehicles into the neighborhoods. The FSA had reportedly taken control of the two districts earlier and the military was making attempts to overrun it. The rebels called the clashes a raid by them against the capital, while the government called it a 48-hour military operation to clear the area of any opposition forces. There were also indications that the government knew about the planned rebel raid and acted on the information. According to state TV, the military killed over 80 rebel fighters during the fighting.

On 17 July, shooting was reported in one of the main central streets and machine-gun fire was reported in nearby Sabaa Bahrat Square, site of the Central Bank of Syria, which was the scene of several major pro-government demonstrations. A brief firefight also erupted near the Syrian parliament building. Fighting was ongoing in the southern Midan and Kfar Sousa districts and the northern Barzeh and Qabun districts. Artillery shelling was reported in all of them and specifically in Midan it was reported to be "hysterical", according to activists. At the same time, in Barzeh and Qabun, helicopter rocket strikes were reported. Later, helicopter strikes were reportedly hitting all four neighborhoods. The state-run news agency reported that rebel forces had retreated from the Nahr Aisha district to Midan, where fighting was continuing. Army reinforcements were sent from the Golan Heights to help defend the capital. This was confirmed by Israeli army intelligence. "The Syrian military is acting very brutally, which shows the regime is desperate. Its control of Damascus is getting weaker," Major General Aviv Kochavi told a parliamentary committee in Israel.

The rebels claimed to have killed 70 soldiers and pro-government militiamen in the previous two days of clashes, while the government reported 14 rebel vehicles were destroyed and an army officer stated that they killed 33 rebels, wounded 15 and captured 145 in the day's fighting in the Qaboun area, where the majority of opposition forces were reportedly. An activist, Shakeeb al-Jabri, claimed that more than 200 soldiers had been killed or wounded in total. A deputy police chief, Brigadier General Issa Duba, was said to have died from wounds sustained during the clashes, according to a pro-Assad website. The FSA stated they destroyed one armored vehicle and captured another and that, among the members of the Syrian military who were killed, were several rooftop snipers. The opposition also claimed to have shot down an army helicopter in the Qaboun district.

There were contradictions among the rebels themselves on the nature of the conflict. One FSA commander declared that the Battle for liberation of Damascus had begun, with another dubbing it Operation Damascus Volcano. But Tarek, the rebel spokesman in Damascus, stated the clashes were still only skirmishes. He also said the FSA didn't start the battle, which would be in line with earlier reports that the military made a preemptive strike on the opposition forces, after learning of their plan for the attack on the capital. Government Information Minister Omran Zoabi stated that the military confronted rebel forces who infiltrated the city, surrounded them and forced many to retreat, while the rest were still being dealt with. RT reporter Maria Finoshina stated that fighting was nowhere near the level she experienced during the government assault on the suburb of Douma the previous week. She said that except for continuing occasional gunfire and military patrols “it doesn't seem like final or decisive battle for capital". Several videos of the fighting in the capital emerged during the day.

Damascus bombing

On 18 July, Syrian state TV reported that a suicide attack that targeted National Security headquarters in Damascus killed Syrian defence minister General Daoud Rajha during a meeting of ministers and a number of heads of (security) agencies. Many other VIPs were wounded and killed in the attack as well. Assef Shawkat, Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and deputy defence minister was also killed. Interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar and country's intelligence chief Hisham Bekhtyar were seriously wounded. The opposition meanwhile claimed that the cause of the explosion was not a suicide bomber, but that a rebel insider planted bombs inside of the building and detonated it remotely from a distant location. Also during the night residents reported that an army barracks near the "palace of the people", about hundred meters from the presidential palace itself, came under heavy fire with residents posting video showing a fire, but residents did not heard any explosion.

References

1. Syria’s defense minister killed in Damascus suicide bombing: state TV
2. Syrian battles rage, rebels destroy Army helicopter
3. Rebels start ops to free Damascus, Assad sends in helicopters, tanks
4. ^ Clashes spread to new areas in Syrian capital
5. ^ Syrian capital's clashes continue in southern part
6. ^ Syrian rebels battling to ‘liberate’ Damascus
7. ^ Syrian soldiers jump through flaming hoops as helicopters fly over capital
8. ^ Syria fighting rages in capital, Russia pressed
9. ^ 11.09am: Syria
10. ^ Assad loses grip on Damascus as rebels begin to close in on regime
11. ^ 4.23pm: Syria
12. ^ Syrian rebels converge on capital, Russia pressed
13. Damascus rocked by 'most intense' fighting of revolt
14. Guardian live updates
15. Syria unrest: Second day of fierce Damascus clashes
16. Damascus fighting a 'turning point'
17. Syrian forces surround rebels fighting in capital
18. ^ Syria conflict: Central Damascus hit by clashes
19. Damascus sees heavy fighting, activists say
20. Syrian Regime Uses Attack Helicopters In Damascus; Defections Continue
21. 3.20pm: Syria
22. FSA: 'Battle for liberation' of Damascus has begun
23. 1.44pm: Syria
24. Scattered gun fights sound ‘Battle for Damascus’ (VIDEO)
25. Syrian capital, Damascus, hit with fiercest fighting yet
26. Syrian armed rebels take fight to government troops in Damascus
27. ^ Syria’s defense minister killed in Damascus suicide bombing: state TV
28. Syrian TV confirms Assef Shawkat was killed in bombing
29. Syrian defense minister killed in Damascus blast, as fighting comes within sight of Assad's palace
30. Syria Defense Minister Gen. Dawoud Rajha killed in explosion in Damascus

• 2011–2012 Syrian uprising
• 2012 in Syria
• Conflicts in 2012
• History of Damascus