Siege of Wadi Deif

First Siege of Wadi Deif
Part of Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2012–April 2013) of the Syrian Civil War
Maarrat al-Nu'man and the strategic M5 highway, the main Army supply route from Hama and Damascus to Aleppo. For a war map of the area around Maarrat al-Nu'man, see here.
Date 11 October 2012 – 18 April 2013 (6 months and 1 week) Location Maarrat al-Nu'man, Syria Result Syrian Army victory The Wadi Deif and Hamidiyah bases were under continues siege from mid-October 2012 to mid-April 2013 Syrian Army recaptured several villages along the highway leading to Maarrat al-Nu'man and the bases by mid-November 2012 On 14 April 2013, the military broke the siege of Wadi Deif and Hamadiyah
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army Al-Nusra Front	Syrian Armed Forces
Commanders and leaders
Col. Heitam Afasi Jamal Maarouf Lt. Col. Khaled Hmood	Gen. Riyad Younes
Units involved
Maarrat Al-Nu'man Martyrs Brigade Farouq Brigades	5th Armored Division 17th Armoured Brigade
Strength
600+	250–500 soldiers, 15 tanks
Casualties and losses
180–237 killed	Unknown
44 civilians killed

Syrian Army victory

5th Armored Division

The First Siege of Wadi Deif refers to the siege of two Syrian Army bases, Wadi Deif and Hamadiyah (both just outside Maarrat al-Nu'man), by rebel forces, starting on 11 October 2012, during the Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2012–April 2013) of the Syrian civil war.

On 8 October, the rebels launched an offensive to capture the town of Maarrat al-Nu'man, which holds a strategic position next to the M5 Highway, a key route which government reinforcements from Damascus would need to use in order to enter the battle in Aleppo. By 10 October, rebels were in control of the city and three days later repulsed a convoy of Army reinforcements that were being sent in an attempt to recapture the town. However, two military bases on the outskirts of Maarrat al-Nu'man remained under Army control and the rebels soon imposed a siege with continues attacks in a bid to capture them.

On 11 October, an AFP reporter said that the rebels were in control of five kilometers of highway running from the town. On the same day, the FSA launched an attack on the Wadi Deif siege, which was being used to shell Maarrat al-Nu'man, just east of the town near the highway. Rebels used at least one captured tank, RPGs and mortar bombs, as the town continued to be hit by airstrikes.

On 14 October, government troops made attempts to block a new rebel attack on the military base with fighting raging in the nearby villages of Maarshurin and Hish. The next day, rebels pushed the military back from the town to two barracks on its outskirts. Rebel commanders called it "a major breakthrough".

On 15 October, a column of reinforcements was sent to make an attempt to break through to the base.

On 16 October, the military counter-attack continued with additional air-strikes on the town and surrounding areas. The next day, a military attack helicopter was shot down during fighting in Maarhtat, on the outskirts of Maarrat al-Nu'man.

On 18 October, military fighter jets destroyed two residential buildings and a mosque, where many women and children, who had thought the danger had passed and returned to the town, were taking refuge. Rescue workers said the airstrikes had killed at least 44 people. 23 children were among those killed in the airstrike, including a nine-month-old baby, according to the workers. In the evening, the rebels launched what they said was a “final assault” on the Wadi Daif military base. The rebels claimed to have destroyed three tanks and captured six soldiers in the fighting. Hundreds of rebels were involved in the operation, according to an AFP correspondent. The rebels captured the fertiliser storage area, which is part of the military complex, and killed six soldiers, according to SOHR.

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