Battle of Damascus (2012) 2012
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 July 2012 – 4 August 2012 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2012 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Syria | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ahrar al-Sham, Al-Nusra Front, Ba'athist Syria, Free Syrian Army | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 33.5122, 36.2983 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Damascus (Arabic: معركة دمشق), also known as Operation Damascus Volcano (Arabic: عملية بركان دمشق), started on 15 July 2012 during the Syrian civil war. Thousands of rebels infiltrated Damascus from the surrounding countryside. Following this, according to some reports, the opposition forces launched an operation to capture the capital, while according to other reports, the military learned of the large-scale rebel operation beforehand and made a preemptive strike. Some reports even suggested the rebels launched the operation prematurely due to their plans being discovered by the security forces.
After the rebels initially captured half a dozen districts and killed four high-ranking government ministers in a bombing, opposition forces were forced to retreat following a military counter-attack, leaving the army in control of the capital after three weeks of fighting. It was the first time tanks and helicopters had been deployed in central Damascus and left parts of the city as a warzone.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Damascus (2012) (revision 1380173168), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Damascus (1148) 1148 · 0 km
- Capture of Damascus (1918) 1918 · 0 km
- Siege of Damascus (634) 634 · 1 km
- Battle of Damascus (1941) 1941 · 1 km
- Battle of Yarmouk Camp (2015) 2015 · 4 km
- Fall of Damascus (2024) 2024 · 5 km
Browse more: battles in Syria · Asia · Post-1945 battles