Syrian army gains in the south, rebels talk peace terms

AMMAN / BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army is on the front page of the United States on Saturday.

State television broadcast from the town of Dael, northwest of Deraa city, after the army entered, and a war

Rebels expected to hold another meeting on Saturday with Syrian state sovereignty of Deraa province, an insurgent spokesman said.

Air raids continued in the meantime, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in an offensive that the United Nations says has driven 160,000 people from their homes, threatening a humanitarian catastrophe.

Russia, the Syrian government's strongest supporter, has made a name for itself in the past, and has played a role in mediating surrender deals.

Southwestern Syria is one of two remaining rebels strongholds, along with a region of the northwest that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sworn to recapture. He also wants to take over control of territory in northeastern Syria held by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.

The army's offensive follows the capitulation of rebel enclaves near Homs and Damascus, including eastern Ghouta, which was recaptured after a scorched-earth assault that killed over a thousand civilians and laid waste to several towns.

Warfare in the southwest could be further escalated because of its proximity to Israel. The Israelis have already targeted Iran-backed militia fighting on Assad's side, which they have vowed to keep from their country's borders.

The government's offensive so far has focused on Deraa province, which Jordan's borders, but not Quneitra province abutting the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The deal is discussed Quneitra, the rebels said.

The entire southwest is part of a "de-escalation zone" agreed last year by Russia, the United States and Jordan. Despite Washington's threats that it would respond to breaches of this arrangement, it has shown that it is doing so, and the opposition has made it difficult to stay silent.

NEGOTIATIONS

Insurgent negotiators and a spokesman said a six-member civilian and military committee of the southern rebels held at preliminary meeting along the administrative borders of neighboring Sweida province.

"said Ibrahim Jabawi, spokesman of the central operations." Free Syrian Army groups in Southern Syria.

But Russian negotiators had Jabawi said.

Jordan has been facilitating talks between rebels factions and Moscow over a deal that would end the violence in exchange for the return of state rule in Deraa province on its border.

Russian negotiators have asked for rebels accepting the terms of the agreement, which are insurgents for the rule of law and the rule of law, Jabawi said.

The southwest rebels did not accept this, and were instead proposing the return of civilian state institutions in the opposition areas and the entry of Russian military police rather than Syrian government forces.

The army has already captured large parts of the eastern zone of rebel-held territory in Deraa province, but more recently, it has been reported that it has been reported to Assad.

On Saturday, state television said the town of al-Ghariya al-Sharqiya had accepted a "reconciliation" agreement with the government, and the national flag had been raised there.

It broadcast live from the town of Dael, where a crowd was shown chanting slogans in support of Assad and the army.

State TV said on Friday that four nearby cities had agreed to surrender their arms and accept state rule. The army had gained control over the towns of al-Harak, Ibta and Rakham, it said, and a rebel said lines in one area had collapsed.

The Observatory said that the Russian Federation had several rebellions against Assad.

It reported that warplanes carried out as long as it was still active, hitting nine towns in Deraa province. So far, about 100 civilians have been killed in air raids and shelling since June 19, it said.

Clashes escalated around Deraa city, which lies close to the border with Jordan, and said it.