Flood of fire on the rebel areas of the Syrian province of Deraa

The Syrian regime and its Russian ally have subjected the rebel sectors of Deraa province to a barrage of fire after the failure of negotiations with the insurgents, an unprecedented escalation since the beginning of the offensive on this southern region of the country at war

All night Wednesday to Thursday, "hundreds" of missiles and barrels of explosives were launched by Syrian and Russian aircraft on rebel areas including near the city of Deraa, capital of the province of the same name, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). And the strikes continue on Thursday morning.

"Syrian and Russian planes are trying to turn these areas into hell," said OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahman, referring to a "hysterical bombardment of the province. of Deraa in an attempt to bend the rebels after their refusal to submit to Russian conditions for a halt to the fighting. "

According to an AFP correspondent at the entrance to the town of Deraa, the shelling, which has not stopped the night, is the most violent since the beginning of June 19 the badault launched by the regime to take over the entire province, which borders the border with Jordan and the Golan Heights for the most part occupied by Israel.

In the wake of the bombings, the regime's forces managed, for the first time in more than three years, to take control of a security checkpoint at the border with Jordan on Thursday, according to the report. OSDH

According to the NGO, six civilians one woman and four children were killed in heavy shelling on the western city of Saida.

"The fear of everything"

"This is the hardest and most violent night since the beginning of the barbaric offensive of the Syrian regime and the Russian occupation forces", wrote on Twitter the Syrian militant Omar al-Hariri, present in the city of Deraa.

"Since the announcement of the failure of the negotiations, the bombings have not stopped for a moment," Samer Homsi, 47, who fled the town of Daraa with his wife, told AFP. his four children

"People here live under trees or in crowded tents, nothing protects us from strikes," he laments. "The situation is very difficult, we live among the olive trees, in fear of everything, bombings, without water or medical badistance."

The bombing in the province of Deraa resumed Wednesday night after the announcement by the insurgents of a failure of the negotiations with Russia which tries to convince the insurgents to give up their weapons

The regime opened this new front in the south after consolidating its power on Damascus and its surroundings, by chasing rebels and jihadists, and have taken over other areas. It currently controls over 60% of Syrian territory, according to the OSDH.

Adopting a strategy combining deadly bombings and Moscow-sponsored negotiations, the power of President Bashar al-Assad has reconquered some thirty rebel localities in the province of Deraa, notably with so-called "reconciliation" agreements that are similar to

UN meeting

But the insurgents announced on Wednesday the "failure" of the negotiations. The Russians have proposed that the rebels hand over their heavy and medium artillery and join civilian life or enlist in pro-government anti-jihadist forces.

The Russians insisted that the heavy artillery (rebels) be abandoned in one go, which the rebels refused.

Faced with the regime's offensive in the south, the international community is revealed , once again, powerless.

Since 2011, all international initiatives aimed at finding a solution to the conflict in Syria that has made more than 350,000 dead have failed.

The UN Security Council is due to hold on Thursday an emergency meeting in camera to discuss the situation in the south, according to diplomatic sources.

The violence in this region has made between 270,000 and 330,000 displaced since June 19, according to the UN, some finding refuge close to the Jordanian and Israeli borders, where they live in total deprivation.

But neither Jordan nor Israel wants to welcome them and, faced with the risk of a humanitarian crisis, the organization Human Rights Watch called the d countries to open their borders.

05/07/2018 09:53:38 –
Deraa (Syria) (AFP) –
© 2018 AFP