The Syrian army besieges the opposition pocket in the city of Daraa



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Syrian opposition fighters said on Monday that the army and its allies had blocked the enclave of the city of Deraa and were about to take control of the city that was at the origin of the uprising of President Bashar al-Assad.

As the government progressed in areas controlled by Daraa's opposition, it appears to be intensifying its pressure on the opposition even after agreeing to extradition conditions last week in what is was a great victory for Assad.

Government forces also control the border area with Jordan east of the city of Daraa on Monday. The Syrian Free Opposition Army, formerly backed by the West and Jordan, has yielded most of the area with heavy weapons to the government after the conclusion of an agreement to transfer on Friday.

With Russian air support, Syrian government forces and allied forces won a strategic victory in a 20-day attack on the Nisib-Jaber crossing, a vital trade pbadage controlled by opponents for three years.

A spokesman for opposition fighters in Daraa said that several thousand were now trapped after the army entered a major base in the west of the city without to fight.

The spokesman told Reuters that the army and Allied fighters completely surrounded the shield.

Government media reported that the army was deployed in the border area with Jordan and reinforced its grip on the so-called "terrorists", but did not mention the Daraa siege.

The return of the lion to a complete shield was a major blow to the opposition as the city was a symbol of peaceful demonstrations against his reign that spread across Syria. Authorities crushed the protests, paving the way for civil war.

Delivery contract

Russian opposition and Russian officials reached an agreement Friday for the surrender of Daraa and other cities in Daraa province, south of the border with Jordan.

Prior to the agreement, many villages and towns in Dera'a governorate were forced to return to state sovereignty after a violent Russian air raid on urban centers, causing the biggest wave of displacement of civilians since the beginning of the conflict.
According to opposition sources, Daraa's progress will allow the government forces to control for the first time the front lines of the Free Syrian Army, while ISIS fighters will control the Yarmouk Valley southwest of Daraa.

An intelligence officer from the region said that Russian military police and Syrian forces have entered the city of Tafs and secured a pbadage through the opposition-controlled territory to a front line for fight against the organization of the Islamic State.

The agreement is supposed to allow the fighters who reject the peace to go first to areas controlled by the opposition in the north of the country before the handover of weapons and the return of sovereignty of the state.

Abu Shaima said that there were fighters who wanted to go to Idlib, which is controlled by the opposition, but this request was rejected after the siege, referring to a meeting held on Sunday. He said that a mediator with the army had clearly rejected their request to leave.

The fighters say that the agreement does not allow the army to enter their bastions and allows the formation of local forces of ex-combatants under the supervision of the military police Russian.

There are many fears and they do not trust the Russians or the regime, "Abu Shaima said, adding that" the remaining opponents in Daraa City are still locked in the front lines of the fighting.

Another opposition negotiator said that a new round of talks with Russian officers scheduled today will deal with the fate of the city and security arrangements after returning to the city. sovereignty of the state.

The negotiator, Abu Jihad, said that they would work with the Russians to form a local force to prevent the army from entering Daraa with Russian guarantees.
The United Nations announced on Monday that it will immediately provide humanitarian aid to thousands of families of civilians affected by the fighting in southern Daraa, Sweida and Quneitra provinces in southern Syria after receiving a request. of the Syrian government.

The Resident Representative for UN activities in Syria and Humanitarian Coordinator Ali Zaatari said that civilians affected by the conflict in southern Syria are living in harsh conditions, praising the demand for safe havens. Government badistance.

A few days ago, the UN said that the attack in southern Syria had displaced more than 320,000 people.

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