Assad forces mobilize to overrun northern countryside of Hama: source

Reporting by Mohamed Yateem; Writing by Dani Murad

HAMA (Zaman Al Wasl)- Morek, the graveyard of regime forces and tanks, as described by activists, due to the resilience of its fighters in front of regime’s repeated and useless attempts to break into.

For several months, the strategic town of “Mork”, in the northern countryside of Hama province, has remained in the grip of the fierce rebels for its important geographical location on the International Highway between Hama and Aleppo.

However, an insider source with the regime informed Zaman al-Wasl’s correspondent, that within the recent developments of regime’s military campaign, the Syrian intelligence services and security leaders in Hama have taken the decision to entirely invade the villages and towns of northern Hama, to eventually reach “Mork” before Eid al-Adha, pointing out that Assad’s forces are fully equipped with weapons and ammunition for this battle.

According to the correspondent, Col. Suhail al-Hassan seeks according to a well-plotted plan to control and fortify the hills and highlands in Hama, and thus by overseeing the entire countryside of the city, these high areas will be used as important military bases, and all of rebels’ movements will be exposed and directly targeted with the minimal losses in Assad’s forces.

In the same context, Hama’s media center confirmed that the regime has prepared his way towards the area of Khan Shaikhoun down to “Wadi al-Daif” which is the ultimate goal of the campaign, however, the military campaign will also target nearby villages such as" al-Latamneh, Buweda, Kabari, and Lattmin”.

Moreover, the source also pointed out that the regime seeks the key villages of “Kabari, and Lattmin in the northern countryside of Hama, where it will erect a heavy field artillery model 130 -mounted on trucks, and bombard the city of  Morek  and Kaferzeta, two of the main objectives of the campaign, and later wipe them from the face of earth with missiles and air strikes, with the possibility of using thermometric rockets and toxic chlorine gas to facilitate the ground military intrusion .

And according to a well-informed source, the regime is planning to break into  Morek  through the three axes of the east, west and south, meanwhile al-Hassan  will facilitate the matter further by buying the conscious of easily-manipulated rebels who are stationed at Morek’s front, and thus ensure less efforts and losses that Assad’s troops will face when they advance on ground after destroying these areas.

In addition to that, the correspondent pointed out that regime’s plan includes confiscating cars, large trucks and vans in Hama and pro-regime areas to transfer its soldiers of Shabiha, and militia, after being fully equipped with the needed supplies of bread and food for this campaign.