The Syrian army captures 34 villages, including Um-Miyal[7] after advancing south of Aleppo towards the
Abu al-Duhur Airbase, reaching a distance of about 6 km from its forces in the eastern countryside of Idlib.[8]
Syrian Army forces capture the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib governorate.[13]
The civilian death toll of the Rif Dimashq offensive rose to 200 over the first 48 hours, and the number of hospitals struck rose to seven - the highest 48 hour death toll since the 2013
Ghouta chemical attack.[14][15]
22 January
Afrin offensive: Turkish forces -
TAF/TSK and their
Syrian National Army (SNA) allies - announce the capture of seven villages, although the Kurdish
YPG recaptured two of them.[16]
27 January
Afrin offensive: As Turkey's Afrin intervention entered its second week, Turkey's Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu urged the US to 'immediately withdraw' its military personnel from Manbij in northern Syria that's held by the Kurds.[17]
February 2018
3 February
A
RussianSu-25 fighter jet is shot down by a
MANPAD while on a patrolling mission over the âłde-escalation zoneâł in the Idlib governorate. The pilot,
Roman Filipov, safely ejected via parachute but died on the ground in a brief exchange of fire with militants on the outskirts of
Saraqib. HTS claimed responsibility for the downing.[18] In response, the
Russian Ministry of Defence released alleged footage of airstrikes on HTS territory in the area of the crash site.[citation needed]
Airstrikes on residential areas of
Douma reportedly killed at least 31 civilians, according to the UN.[21]
7 February
Syrian Army forces have recently seized a total of 76 towns and locations from ISIL forces in Idlib Governorate, closing out an ISIL pocket of resistance.[22]
According to American military sources, Syrian pro-government forces
initiated an offensive against US-backed
SDF territory east of the
Deir ez-Zordeconfliction line, near a
Conoco gas field. The US-led
coalition conducted strikes against the pro-government forces in support of the SDF.[23] According to one US official, more than 100 pro-government fighters were killed, while about 500 troops participated in the attack; no Americans were injured or killed during the engagement.[24][25] At a news briefing,
Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White claimed the US is "not looking for a conflict with the regime."[26] According to a source close to the Syrian Army, approximately 25-30 Al-Baraka tribesmen were killed in the airstrikes. The Al-Baraka tribesmen are also from the Euphrates River Valley and considered locals.[27] The Russian government later admitted several dozen of its citizens died or were injured during the engagement.[28]
10 February
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Zeid Raâad Al Hussein called for international action after "one of the bloodiest periods of the entire conflict", mainly in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib. The UN Human Rights Office received reports indicating that at least 277 civilians were killed between 4 and 9 February â 230 in pro-government airstrikes â with a further 812 civilians injured.[21]
An Israeli Air Force
F-16I fighter jet
was shot down in northern
Israel when it was hit by Syrian Air Defense. Both pilots were wounded but ejected and landed in Israeli territory.[29]
A Turkish Helicopter was shot down by the SDF/YPG south of Omeran village during the Afrin offensive.[30]
An
Israeli army assessment claimed that half of Syria's aerial defense systems were destroyed in the retaliatory air force sortie during the 10 February airstrikes.[31]
13 February
The "Defeat the Invaders" Idlib rebel alliance announced the ISIL pocket in the region had been dissolved after some 400 people (ISIL fighters, their families and wounded) gave themselves up in the village of
Khwein al-Kabir.[32][33]
15 February
Afrin offensive: The
Syrian National Army and Turkish forces announced the capturing of five villages from the YPG.[34]
16 February
Afrin offensive: Turkey allegedly launches a chemical attack against Kurdish forces in Afrin, which leaves 6 people wounded.[35][36]
Heavy clashes erupt in the Aleppo and Idlib Governorates between the Syrian Liberation Front and Tahrir al-Sham.
In East Ghouta, monitors and activists reported 72 airstrikes, 97 civilian mortalities and 500 injuries in the first 24 hours of the
Rif Dimashq offensive. Five hospital were reportedly struck and put out of service.[39]
20 February
Afrin offensive: A convoy of a pro-Syrian government militia called "Popular Forces" entered Afrin to support the YPG but was hit by Turkish artillery "warning shots", forcing the convoy to retreat.[40][41]
22 February
By the fifth day of the
Rif Dimashq offensive (February 2018), monitors reported 38 deaths, making a total of over 300 killed in pro-government air strikes in East Ghouta.[42][43] Doctors Without Borders said at least 13 hospitals and clinics were damaged or destroyed over the previous days.[43]
The Syrian government
assumes control of
Sheikh Maqsood, Ashrafiya, Haidariya, Baaeydin and Holluk neighborhoods in North Aleppo after the YPG/
YPJ garrison there deploy to Afrin.[44]
23 February
Airstrikes and artillery attacks on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus killed at least 46 people on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse, bringing the six day death toll to over 400.[45] The UN was unable to reach an agreement on a ceasefire resolution, due to Russian blocking.[46][47]
The Kurdish YPG called on the Syrian army to intervene in Afrin, to supplement pro-government militia already there.[48]
Ahrar al-Sham and Suqour al-Sham rebels attack positions of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance in Idlib, according to SOHR.[49]
25 February
Turkish President Erdogan claims a total of 2,021 YPG militants have been "neutralized" since the launch of the Afrin intervention. The Turkish government uses the term "neutralized" to refer to enemies both captured and killed. In turn, according to the Turkish Army, 32 Turkish soldiers have been killed and 183 others wounded since the beginning of the Afrin operation.[50]
The SAA begins its ground assault on East Ghouta on multiple fronts.[51]
March 2018
3 March
The Syrian National Army and Turkish Armed Forces (SNA/TSK) captured the town of
Rajo from the YPG along with capturing Ramadiyah and Hamelika villages in the Jinderes district during the ongoing Afrin offensive.[52]
8 March
SNA/TSK forces captured the town of
Jindires from the YPG, giving them control of one of the largest settlements in Syria's northwest Afrin region.[53] They also captured the villages of Shawaghat al-Juz, Maarsat al-Khatib, Hallubi Kabir and Hallubi Saghir, and the "Mafraq al Jatt" crossroads, cutting off the Nubl-Kafrjana-Afrin highway.[54][55]
9 March
SNA/TSK forces seized control of the
Maydanki dam and its western bank in Afrin. The dam serves as a water supply to Afrin city.[56]
11 March
The Syrian army captures 59% of the rebel-held eastern Ghouta enclave[57] and divides it into three separate pockets[58]
15 March
Tens of thousands of civilians evacuated the eastern
Ghouta suburbs in one of the largest single-day exoduses of civilians since the start of the Syrian war.[59] A similar scale of displacement occurred in Afrin.[60][61]
There was renewed government bombing of Daraa, a "de-escalation zone".[62][63]
18 March
On the 58th day of the Turkish-led Afrin offensive,
Afrin city is captured by SNA/TSK forces - punctuated by Turkish and Free Syrian Army flags and banners raised above the city. De-mining operations begin as there were reports of the city being
pillaged as military sites and civilian homes and businesses were looted by militants.[64][65]
28 March
The Syrian Arab Army prepares to attack
Douma in eastern Ghouta unless the
Jaysh al-Islam insurgent group agrees to hand over the area.[66]
29 March
President
Donald Trump announced that the United States will be leaving Syria "very soon".[67]
Some U.S. commanders interviewed by
NBC News warned that recent firings and distracting domestic political tumult within the
Trump administration could jeopardize the Special Forces mission against ISIL in Syria.[69]
One British and one American servicemen were killed by an IED explosion in Manbij along with five other soldiers being injured.[70]
April 2018
4 April
A summit on achieving a lasting ceasefire in Syria is held in
Ankara, Turkey by
Iran's President
Hassan Rouhani, Turkey's President
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan and
Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The Ankara summit is particularly significant in that Russia and Iran support the Assad government and Turkey's president has supported the Free Syrian Army.[citation needed]
About 100 buses evacuated the last batch of rebels and civilians from Douma,[72][73] following which Russian and Syrian government forces took complete control of Douma ending the four years long
Siege of Eastern Ghouta.[74][75][76]
The SAA declared eastern Ghouta to be fully liberated after the last batch of
Jaysh al-Islam rebel fighters evacuated Douma. Syrian forces promptly began mine-clearing operations in the city.[77]
The SAA and allied Palestinian militias launch an offensive to dislodge ISIL from their pocket in southern Damascus.[78]
22 April
As a part of an evacuation deal, rebels in East
Qalamoun surrendered their weapons to the SAA in exchange for safe evacuation to rebel-held northern Syria, dissolving the rebel pocket of resistance there.[79] The
government flag was raised in
Jayrud two days later as the last batch of rebels evacuated, signifying government control in the former rebel enclave.[80]
The Syrian army captures 34 villages, including Um-Miyal[7] after advancing south of Aleppo towards the
Abu al-Duhur Airbase, reaching a distance of about 6 km from its forces in the eastern countryside of Idlib.[8]
Syrian Army forces capture the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib governorate.[13]
The civilian death toll of the Rif Dimashq offensive rose to 200 over the first 48 hours, and the number of hospitals struck rose to seven - the highest 48 hour death toll since the 2013
Ghouta chemical attack.[14][15]
22 January
Afrin offensive: Turkish forces -
TAF/TSK and their
Syrian National Army (SNA) allies - announce the capture of seven villages, although the Kurdish
YPG recaptured two of them.[16]
27 January
Afrin offensive: As Turkey's Afrin intervention entered its second week, Turkey's Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu urged the US to 'immediately withdraw' its military personnel from Manbij in northern Syria that's held by the Kurds.[17]
February 2018
3 February
A
RussianSu-25 fighter jet is shot down by a
MANPAD while on a patrolling mission over the âłde-escalation zoneâł in the Idlib governorate. The pilot,
Roman Filipov, safely ejected via parachute but died on the ground in a brief exchange of fire with militants on the outskirts of
Saraqib. HTS claimed responsibility for the downing.[18] In response, the
Russian Ministry of Defence released alleged footage of airstrikes on HTS territory in the area of the crash site.[citation needed]
Airstrikes on residential areas of
Douma reportedly killed at least 31 civilians, according to the UN.[21]
7 February
Syrian Army forces have recently seized a total of 76 towns and locations from ISIL forces in Idlib Governorate, closing out an ISIL pocket of resistance.[22]
According to American military sources, Syrian pro-government forces
initiated an offensive against US-backed
SDF territory east of the
Deir ez-Zordeconfliction line, near a
Conoco gas field. The US-led
coalition conducted strikes against the pro-government forces in support of the SDF.[23] According to one US official, more than 100 pro-government fighters were killed, while about 500 troops participated in the attack; no Americans were injured or killed during the engagement.[24][25] At a news briefing,
Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White claimed the US is "not looking for a conflict with the regime."[26] According to a source close to the Syrian Army, approximately 25-30 Al-Baraka tribesmen were killed in the airstrikes. The Al-Baraka tribesmen are also from the Euphrates River Valley and considered locals.[27] The Russian government later admitted several dozen of its citizens died or were injured during the engagement.[28]
10 February
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Zeid Raâad Al Hussein called for international action after "one of the bloodiest periods of the entire conflict", mainly in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib. The UN Human Rights Office received reports indicating that at least 277 civilians were killed between 4 and 9 February â 230 in pro-government airstrikes â with a further 812 civilians injured.[21]
An Israeli Air Force
F-16I fighter jet
was shot down in northern
Israel when it was hit by Syrian Air Defense. Both pilots were wounded but ejected and landed in Israeli territory.[29]
A Turkish Helicopter was shot down by the SDF/YPG south of Omeran village during the Afrin offensive.[30]
An
Israeli army assessment claimed that half of Syria's aerial defense systems were destroyed in the retaliatory air force sortie during the 10 February airstrikes.[31]
13 February
The "Defeat the Invaders" Idlib rebel alliance announced the ISIL pocket in the region had been dissolved after some 400 people (ISIL fighters, their families and wounded) gave themselves up in the village of
Khwein al-Kabir.[32][33]
15 February
Afrin offensive: The
Syrian National Army and Turkish forces announced the capturing of five villages from the YPG.[34]
16 February
Afrin offensive: Turkey allegedly launches a chemical attack against Kurdish forces in Afrin, which leaves 6 people wounded.[35][36]
Heavy clashes erupt in the Aleppo and Idlib Governorates between the Syrian Liberation Front and Tahrir al-Sham.
In East Ghouta, monitors and activists reported 72 airstrikes, 97 civilian mortalities and 500 injuries in the first 24 hours of the
Rif Dimashq offensive. Five hospital were reportedly struck and put out of service.[39]
20 February
Afrin offensive: A convoy of a pro-Syrian government militia called "Popular Forces" entered Afrin to support the YPG but was hit by Turkish artillery "warning shots", forcing the convoy to retreat.[40][41]
22 February
By the fifth day of the
Rif Dimashq offensive (February 2018), monitors reported 38 deaths, making a total of over 300 killed in pro-government air strikes in East Ghouta.[42][43] Doctors Without Borders said at least 13 hospitals and clinics were damaged or destroyed over the previous days.[43]
The Syrian government
assumes control of
Sheikh Maqsood, Ashrafiya, Haidariya, Baaeydin and Holluk neighborhoods in North Aleppo after the YPG/
YPJ garrison there deploy to Afrin.[44]
23 February
Airstrikes and artillery attacks on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus killed at least 46 people on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse, bringing the six day death toll to over 400.[45] The UN was unable to reach an agreement on a ceasefire resolution, due to Russian blocking.[46][47]
The Kurdish YPG called on the Syrian army to intervene in Afrin, to supplement pro-government militia already there.[48]
Ahrar al-Sham and Suqour al-Sham rebels attack positions of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance in Idlib, according to SOHR.[49]
25 February
Turkish President Erdogan claims a total of 2,021 YPG militants have been "neutralized" since the launch of the Afrin intervention. The Turkish government uses the term "neutralized" to refer to enemies both captured and killed. In turn, according to the Turkish Army, 32 Turkish soldiers have been killed and 183 others wounded since the beginning of the Afrin operation.[50]
The SAA begins its ground assault on East Ghouta on multiple fronts.[51]
March 2018
3 March
The Syrian National Army and Turkish Armed Forces (SNA/TSK) captured the town of
Rajo from the YPG along with capturing Ramadiyah and Hamelika villages in the Jinderes district during the ongoing Afrin offensive.[52]
8 March
SNA/TSK forces captured the town of
Jindires from the YPG, giving them control of one of the largest settlements in Syria's northwest Afrin region.[53] They also captured the villages of Shawaghat al-Juz, Maarsat al-Khatib, Hallubi Kabir and Hallubi Saghir, and the "Mafraq al Jatt" crossroads, cutting off the Nubl-Kafrjana-Afrin highway.[54][55]
9 March
SNA/TSK forces seized control of the
Maydanki dam and its western bank in Afrin. The dam serves as a water supply to Afrin city.[56]
11 March
The Syrian army captures 59% of the rebel-held eastern Ghouta enclave[57] and divides it into three separate pockets[58]
15 March
Tens of thousands of civilians evacuated the eastern
Ghouta suburbs in one of the largest single-day exoduses of civilians since the start of the Syrian war.[59] A similar scale of displacement occurred in Afrin.[60][61]
There was renewed government bombing of Daraa, a "de-escalation zone".[62][63]
18 March
On the 58th day of the Turkish-led Afrin offensive,
Afrin city is captured by SNA/TSK forces - punctuated by Turkish and Free Syrian Army flags and banners raised above the city. De-mining operations begin as there were reports of the city being
pillaged as military sites and civilian homes and businesses were looted by militants.[64][65]
28 March
The Syrian Arab Army prepares to attack
Douma in eastern Ghouta unless the
Jaysh al-Islam insurgent group agrees to hand over the area.[66]
29 March
President
Donald Trump announced that the United States will be leaving Syria "very soon".[67]
Some U.S. commanders interviewed by
NBC News warned that recent firings and distracting domestic political tumult within the
Trump administration could jeopardize the Special Forces mission against ISIL in Syria.[69]
One British and one American servicemen were killed by an IED explosion in Manbij along with five other soldiers being injured.[70]
April 2018
4 April
A summit on achieving a lasting ceasefire in Syria is held in
Ankara, Turkey by
Iran's President
Hassan Rouhani, Turkey's President
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan and
Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The Ankara summit is particularly significant in that Russia and Iran support the Assad government and Turkey's president has supported the Free Syrian Army.[citation needed]
About 100 buses evacuated the last batch of rebels and civilians from Douma,[72][73] following which Russian and Syrian government forces took complete control of Douma ending the four years long
Siege of Eastern Ghouta.[74][75][76]
The SAA declared eastern Ghouta to be fully liberated after the last batch of
Jaysh al-Islam rebel fighters evacuated Douma. Syrian forces promptly began mine-clearing operations in the city.[77]
The SAA and allied Palestinian militias launch an offensive to dislodge ISIL from their pocket in southern Damascus.[78]
22 April
As a part of an evacuation deal, rebels in East
Qalamoun surrendered their weapons to the SAA in exchange for safe evacuation to rebel-held northern Syria, dissolving the rebel pocket of resistance there.[79] The
government flag was raised in
Jayrud two days later as the last batch of rebels evacuated, signifying government control in the former rebel enclave.[80]