Bashar al-Assad, aided by Russia, ready to quell the Syrian uprising



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Bashar al-Assad wants to capture Deraa who was the starting point of the protests against him (Reuters)

Beirut:

President Bashar al-Assad is ready to quell the Syrian rebellion in the place where it began More than seven years ago, rebels in the city of Deraa began talks with their Russian allies to withdraw or accept the return of state authority.

Government forces supported by Russia seized most of the province of Deraa. On Monday, he surrounded rebel-held parties in the city of Deraa and seized the entire Jordanian border that was in the hands of the opposition.

Assad, whose control was reduced to a fraction of Syria, now holds most of the country. From his Russian and Iranian allies.

Deraa was the scene of the first anti-Assad demonstrations that provoked a war that was estimated to have killed half a million people. The conflict has driven more than 11 million people from their homes, with some 5.6 million Syrian refugees in neighboring states and many others in Europe.

Hidden rebels in part of the city of Deraa are scheduled to meet with Russian officers on Tuesday. A rebel spokesman, Abu Shaimaa, said. Some are seeking to be evacuated to opposition-controlled northern areas, while others are negotiating to stay as a local security force, he said in a text: Now, there is a session with the Russians on forced displacement, a message, referring to the planned evacuation of an indefinite number of rebels in northwestern opposition zones. on the border with Turkey

A pro-Syrian government newspaper, al-Watan, said: decisive on the verge of ending the chapter of terrorism in the city of Deraa. "

While Assad pushes for outright military victory, there seems to be little hope of a negotiated peace settlement

. Stay out of his control and the presence of US and Turkish forces in these areas will complicate future progress for Damascus.

"Extremely frightened" [19659004] Government forces began entering the province of Daraa last month. The heavily armed rebels quickly went to some places while the United States, who had armed them, told the opposition forces not to wait for his intervention.

Deraa rebels agreed to a broader ceasefire agreement. . Syrian and Russian forces then took control of the main crossing with Jordan, which has been in rebel hands since 2015.

On Monday, government forces extended control along the Deraa province border. with Jordan. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said that army helicopters dropped leaflets on the rebel city of Al-Haara, saying "that The government's offensive is expected to turn next to the rebel-held areas near the province of Quneitra, on the border with the Golan Heights occupied by Israel.

L & # 39; The offensive unleashed the largest displacement of civilian troops in the war, uprooting more than 320,000 people, and a large number of people moved within a few days of the ceasefire, some returning to their villages. 19659004] Rachel Sider, Information Advisor and Counsel for Syria to the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that are subject to the agreement "because the expectation is that now there is a ceasefire -which holds, it will be the most stable place and the most s r. "

" But we also know that people are still very afraid. We have seen a lot of confusion among people trying to make a decision about the safety of their family and their future, "she said.

Tens of thousands of displaced people are believed to be living in the Tel Shihab area of ​​Daraa province, and many others are on the border with the Golan Heights occupied by Israel

© Thomson Reuters 2018

(except, this story was not published by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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