Operation Featherweight: Month 46, Week 3, Day 4.

A direct continuation of yesterday's post; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/operation-featherweight-month-6-week-3.html

On March 20th (20/3/18) the Army of Islam launched a counter-offensive to recapture Misraba south of Douma. This was quickly absorbed and repelled.

Having failed to make progress against a military force the Army of Islam then decided to take their frustrations out of civilians.

On March 21st (21/3/18) the Army of Islam started shelling the Mezzah and Jaramana districts of Damascus. Mezzah sits in the south-west of the city, west of al-Qadam district. Jaramana sits in the south-east of the city, below the Ain Terma Valley and west of al-Maliha district.

The Army of Islam's shelling of Jaramana was particularly devastating. Targeting a market it killed at least 35 civilians.

On March 22nd (22/3/18) the Army of Islam continued their shelling of Damascus. Particularly targeting the Marjah Square area, located just to the north of Damascus' Old City district.

As they had done the previous day the Syrians continued to make progress against Faylaq al-Rahman in the Ain Terma district.

The most significant event of the day though was that Ahrar al-Sham did formally surrender Harasta as agreed on March 20th (20/3/18). As per the agreement the surrendering fighters began being transferred out of East Ghouta.

At the same time 4,000 Syrian civilians fled the Army of Islam in Douma for the safety of Syrian government controlled territory via the Humanitarian Corridor at the Wafidain Checkpoint.

On March 23rd (23/3/18) Faylaq al-Rahman formally surrendered the areas under their control: Jobar. Arbeen. Ain Tarma. Zamalka.

This left only Douma under the control of the Army of Islam as the sole remaining area of East Ghouta under Islamist control.

The initial terms of the surrender saw Faylaq al-Rahman transported with only light weapons to the Sudetenland where they would join with Al Qaeda and ISIL.

However those terms changed on March 29th (29/3/18).

Following unconvincing objections from Turkey Faylaq al-Rahman instead transferred to Afrin Canton. Where they are likely to be absorbed into the ranks of the United Turkmen Army (UTA).

With Islamist forces in disarray a further 3,500 Syrian civilians were able to flee the Army of Islam in Douma for the safety of Syrian government controlled territory via the Humanitarian Corridor at the Wafidain Checkpoint.

On March 24th (24/3/18) Faylaq al-Rahman's surrender went into effect. This led to a period of relative quiet in East Ghouta.

During that period negotiations began in earnest between the Syrians and the Army of Islam.

As a condition of their surrender the Army of Islam wanted safe passage with all their weapons to either Daraa Province or the East Qalamoun Mountains.

Daraa Province borders Israel and Jordan. Attacks by allies of the Army of Islam in Daraa Province on March 16th (16/3/18) had seen that option taken off the table.

The East Qalamoun Mountains sit to the north-east of Damascus. The most northerly town Ruhaybah sits around 30km (20 miles) north-east of Douma. Similar attacks by allies of the Army of Islam had ruled out transfer to that area.

On March 28th (28/3/18) the deadline for the Army of Islam's surrender expired without agreement. However there was no immediate action by the Syrians.

There was though an attack by allies of the Army of Islam against the Syrians at the town of al-Mahasa in the East Qalamoun Mountains. Rather underlining why transferring the Army of Islam there was simply not an option.

On April 3rd (3/4/18) the transfer of Faylaq al-Rahman was completed. This was notable because of the thousands of Syrian civilians lining up to pelt the buses carrying the Islamists with rocks.

That same day the Army of Islam announced that it would not surrender and instead fight to the death in Douma. However they did start transferring their "wounded" fighters out of Douma.

This transfer of "wounded" Army of Islam fighters continued until April 5th (5/4/18) when it suddenly stopped. Officially this was the result of a spilt with the Army of Islam between factions which wished to surrender and factions which wished to fight on.

In reality though it seemed to owe more to events in Garvaghy Road where the Army of Islam were being transferred to.

On April 4th (4/4/18) the first batch of Army of Islam fighters arrived at al-Bab in Garvaghy Road on their way to Jarablus.

They were briefly stopped by the regular Turkish military. However the Turkish military were forced to relent and allow them safe passage by supposedly "Popular Protests" by the residents of Garvaghy Road.

Providing an update on the situation in Afrin Canton is really my next task. However on January 21st (21/1/18) the regular Turkish military and the UTA launched an operation against Afrin Canton.

The objective of that operation was to annex Afrin Canton as part of a new Ottoman Empire alongside the annexation of Garvaghy Road and the by-proxy annexation of the Sudetenland.

This represents the seizure by force of arms of the territory of one sovereign nation by another sovereign nation.

That is totally forbidden by the Charter of the United Nations and by the Geneva Conventions. It represents the highest of all War Crimes.

Particularly within Afrin Canton Turkish forces are forcibly expelling the indigenous Kurdish population. They are replacing them with Syrian Arabs along with ethnic groups such as Turks, Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs who are not even native to Syria.

To give you an idea of the scale of this the Army of Islam families being transferred from Douma alone number around 60,000 people.

This is simply Ethnic Cleansing. A Crime Against Humanity specifically forbidden by the Rome Statute.

The Army of Islam are proud of the fact that they are a genocidal organisation. They have not only exterminated ethnic/religious groups they have executed members of ISIL for the "crime" of not being aggressive enough in their extermination of ethnic/religious groups.

Genocide is a Crime Against Humanity. Specifically forbidden by the Rome Statute.

You would think then that it would be impossible for Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan to maintain his annexation of Syrian territory. Particularly as that annexation is being done in support of Crimes Against Humanity.

So you have events like those seen in al-Bab. The Turkish military make a big display of being opposed to the Army of Islam but are then forced to back down on humanitarian grounds.

On April 5th (5/4/18) and April 6th (6/4/18) the Turks were "leaking" that message to any western news organisation that would listen.

Despite the evacuation of "wounded" Army of Islam fighters grinding to a halt on April 5th (5/4/18) the Syrians did not immediately take any action.

Then on April 6th (6/4/18) the Army of Islam started an artillery bombardment against the Humanitarian Corridor at the Wafidain Checkpoint.

That obviously forced the Syrians to launch airstrikes to protect civilians by stopping the Army of Islam's bombardment of the Humanitarian Corridor.

On April 7th (7/4/18) the Army of Islam claimed that during the course of those Syrian airstrikes Chemical Weapons - suspected to be Chlorine and the Nerve Agent GB/Sarin - were used in two locations in Douma. Specifically the Saada Bakery and Martyrs Square.

It has to be said that it makes absolutely no sense for the Syrians to use Chemical Weapons at that point. Not only was the battle won the surrender of the Army Islam was almost complete.

In fact on the afternoon of April 7th (7/4/18) the Army of Islam did formally surrender. Buses arrived to transfer their remaining fighters.

Obviously in the wake of a heinous Chemical Weapons attack Erdogan had no choice other than to accept the Army of Islam into Garvaghy Road and into the ranks of the UTA.

Everyone was certainly too busy demanding airstrikes against the Syrians to even question it.

Even in surrender the Army of Islam gave us a clear idea of what an utterly appalling organisation they are.

Throughout the negotiations with the Syrians the Army of Islam offered to release 5,000 members of the Alawite ethnic/religious minority they were holding hostage. This includes the roughly 1,000 civilians they paraded through the streets of East Ghouta in cages in November 2016.

Following the Syrians taking control of Douma only 200 of those 5,000 hostages have been found alive.

We know that the remaining 4,800 people did not leave East Ghouta.

17:00 on 26/4/18 (UK date).