Since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the Syrian regime forces have been deliberately pounding Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal al-Turkmen in Latakia province with heavy artillery at the Iftar timing.
In a practice it initiated with the start of the revolution, the regime continues to terrorize civilians during one of the most important months in the Islamic calendar.
Sources in the liberated areas of Latakia said the regime forces bomb the liberated area at the sunset call to prayers and the dawn call to prayer during Ramadan. The two calls to prayer are significant as one announces the end of the daily fast and the other its start.
Residents living in the liberated areas are familiar with the practice after six years of living through it every Ramadan. They take precautionary measures such as not eating their iftar at the designated time. Residents inspect the location the regime forces shelled, aid the wounded, bury the martyrs in the event of any deaths and then break their fast.
Many local residents explained that they now associate the iftar time with the sound of explosions as if the regime shelling has come to replace the sound of the canon traditionally used to announce iftar time.
-Precautions-
Local sources added that civilians avoid gathering in areas that can be easily targeted when they come to break fast as they know that the al-Assad regime forces monitor the entire region from their locations high up in the mountains and reconnaissance planes are used as well.
Civilians black out their windows and prevent any light from the fires they start to prepare their food from being visible to ensure their survival.
The regime forces also target roads leading to the villages making it impossible for residents to move around. Local sources described the period between the afternoon and sunset as “very dangerous” for those travelling on roads monitored by the regime forces as they target all moving vehicles without exception to inflict the greatest possible losses among civilians.
-Mosques are a Target-
Mosques remain a key target for the al-Assad forces. All the mosques in rural Latakia and western Idlib are either partially or fully destroyed. As a result, worshipers and imams often pray in distant places to ensure their safety.
Speaking to Zaman al-Wasl, Sheikh Mahmoud said, “Since the beginning of the revolution, we have become accustomed to the regime bombing at iftar time and at dawn. All the mosques are destroyed or at least damaged as a result of the shelling.”
He stressed that “The al-Assad regime wants to prevent us from gathering and praying together because the regime considers our meetings a threat.”
The al-Assad forces have increased their shelling of villages in rural Latakia after stopping for several days after the Astana settlement agreement was reached. The regime forces escalated their attack to prevent villagers from returning to their villages and homes.
Many villagers living close to the front lines have returned to their villages as a result of the de-escalation.
“Many people are restricted to their villages, and life goes on as normal,” said Abu Mohammad, a trader in the area. He continued, “Many families who returned do not have young children, and most of the men returned to defend the area after securing their families in safer areas. They want to protect their homes and follow up on their agricultural and commercial livelihoods
