Battle of al - Haffah The Battle of al - Haffah ( ) was a battle between the Syrian Army and the rebel Free Syrian Army ( FSA ) in Latakia Governorate , primarily in the area around the town of Al - Haffah . The battle resulted in the ousting of the rebels from Al - Haffah . Background . Haffah is a Sunni Muslim town that lies in the foothills of the coastal mountains that form the heartland of Assad ' s Alawi sect . It is strategically located close to the port city of Latakia , as well as , the Turkish border which has been used by the rebels to smuggle people and supplies . Event . Rebels capture Al - Haffah . The fighting started on 5 June 2012 , in Al - Haffah , when a large concentration of FSA rebels attacked and captured the town ' s police stations . Soon after , government forces surrounded the city and began an attack . The opposition claimed at least five government tanks and armoured personnel carriers were destroyed in the fighting . Clashes also broke out in the nearby villages of Bakas , Shirqaq , Babna , Al - Jankil , and Al - Dafil . Army counter - attack . The fighting continued into the next day with government forces shelling the village of Shirqaq and continuing to assault Al - Haffah , where tanks and helicopters joined the fighting . The helicopters strafed suspected rebel positions . On the first day of the battle 33 people were killed : 22 soldiers , nine rebels and two civilians . On the second day seven people were killed due to the shelling , including one rebel fighter . By 7 June , a number of rebels retreated from Al - Haffah to the al - Gheba area under heavy helicopter fire , but not before they freed several prisoners , abducted a number of police officers and bulldozed the local police station and secret police offices . Army troop reinforcements arrived to the area on 10 June , and the military continued to bombard the town and surrounding villages for a sixth straight day . Most of the rebels retreated to the surrounding mountainous area around Al - Haffah , which is a Sunni Muslim enclave , and entrenched themselves . The next day , the US government reported that it feared the Syrian government was planning a new massacre in al - Haffah , where fighting had killed 68 soldiers , 29 civilians and 23 rebel fighters . The city continued to endure heavy shelling from the army . The FSA reported the same day that they had moved civilians away from the city centre to protect them , but even the outskirts were shelled eventually . Army recaptures Al - Haffah . On 12 June , the military recaptured al - Haffah and the remaining 200 FSA fighters under heavy bombardment by government forces withdrew from the town . The rebels were reported to have retreated to Turkey . The FSA called the pullout a tactical retreat , to avoid the killing of more civilians . The rebels claimed that heavy shelling of the town had caused significant damage to the area ' s infrastructure and shortages in water and electricity supplies . In addition , the FSA statement said the withdrawal from the town and its suburbs was to avoid another " massacre " and orders were reportedly given to FSA fighters to evacuate the injured and killed civilians , which included women and children . Aftermath . After the battle , UN monitors were met with the " smell of death " , as they entered the deserted town of al - Haffah which had been shelled for eight consecutive days . The UN observers found the Sunni Muslim town completely abandoned with burned out wrecks of cars and at least one charred body laying on a street .