The Fate of the Syrian City of Daraa Is at Stake After the New Agreement Stumbled

Over the 3 years since the settlement agreement in the summer of 2018, Daraa has remained a “unique exception” in the forced displacement agreements, which the Assad Regime has forced the Syrian people into cities outside of its control.

The revolutionary city that does not acquiesce to Assad, does not grant it the legitimacy it begs for, and does not participate in its farce, to get back to the forefront of events again, after Bashar al-Assad decided to punish and acquiesce, even with fire and barrels.

Daraa today, and large parts of its countryside in front of critical hours, either a new settlement that adjusts its situation, or a battle sought by Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah, in order to penetrate the area and displace civilians from the city to the opposition areas in northern Syria, as happened previously.

 

Military Escalation

In new developments, clashes renewed yesterday, Wednesday, July 28, 2021, between local fighters from the people of Daraa al-Balad and the forces of the Assad Regime, where the latter besieged about 11 thousand Syrian families.

This came in the wake of the failure of a “new round of negotiations” between representatives of the Regime on the one hand, and representatives of the Central Committee of the people of Daraa al-Balad, on the other hand, in reaching an agreement to spare the region the option of “military escalation”.

After the Regime's intransigence and insistence to penetrate the area and withdraw individual weapons from the people, while the besieged people in the area demanded to secure a safe place to flee to.

In turn, the “Ahrar Horan” Group said that military groups affiliated with the 4th Division and the 15th Division of the Assad Army, on the morning of Tuesday, July 27, areas of Daraa al-Balad and the Al-Sad Road neighborhood were targeted with mortar shells, tanks, and machine guns, which led to casualties among civilians.

The Group revealed that the “military escalation” of al-Assad's forces coincided with a round of negotiations under the auspices of Russia, between the delegations of the Regime and the people of Daraa, in order to reach a settlement and end tension in the region.

While a source from the Central Committee stated that the last round of negotiations, which ended on the evening of Tuesday, July 27, failed because of the raising of the ceiling of demands by the Assad Regime’s officers, which is represented by the forced displacement of 15 people from the area, and the establishment of about 9 military points and security checkpoints in the area, other than what was agreed upon during the past days, which stipulates only 3 points.

On the morning of Thursday, July 29, the Assad forces began a “campaign of intense bombing” on the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad with mortars, tanks, machine guns and rocket launchers, and then it tried to advance from 3 axes towards Daraa al-Balad, among violent clashes and confronted by the people of the region.

In turn, the people of Daraa issued a “distress call” after two people were killed and a number of wounded because of the bombing of the Assad forces.

This is due to the unavailability of any first aid materials after the closure of the only medical point in Daraa al-Balad, as a result of being targeted by Assad forces snipers.

Al-Assad's forces had imposed a siege on the Daraa al-Balad area, and sought to storm it and set up military checkpoints there, following the refusal of the people to participate in the presidential elections, and the emergence of demonstrations rejecting it.

 

Humanitarian Catastrophe

In the same context, the tribes of Daraa al-Balad - in southern Syria - demanded the evacuation of about 50,000 civilians from their sons, in light of the attempts of Assad's forces to drag the region into war, tribal leaders said that they are ready to hand over Daraa al-Balad empty of its residents, in order to “spare bloodshed”.

This was stated in a statement read by a representative of these tribes, he affirmed that they complied with the agreement concluded with the Regime, but the latter resorted to military escalation, and it sought to storm the city after imposing a siege on it.

The “Ahrar Horan” Group reported on July 28, the displacement of about 15,000 civilians, mostly women and children, from Daraa al-Balad to Daraa al-Mahatta (under the control of the Regime), fearing an imminent military operation, and after they became one of the Regime's indiscriminate targets, the latter would then close all ports to Daraa al-Balad and prevent anyone from leaving.

According to the Group, the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad are experiencing a “humanitarian catastrophe” in light of the difficult conditions faced by the remaining families inside their neighborhoods, from the continuous indiscriminate bombing to the scarcity of water and medical, food and service materials.

 

Solidarity with Daraa

On social media platforms, Syrian activists shed light through their accounts on what is happening in the city of Daraa from the bombing of the Assad forces and Russia, attempts to break into it and expel its people, calling the world to help the people of the city who have been facing bombing and have been living under siege for a long time, for fear of new displacement and massacres.

The “White Helmets” Organization also indicated in a tweet by Twitter on July 28 that “Tens of thousands of civilians in Daraa City in southern Syria are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, after being besieged today by Regime forces and Russia, which began to randomly bombard the city. These civilians cannot be left to face killing, arrest, and displacement”.

For its part, the “Revolutionaries and Ahrar Horan” group called for a general and comprehensive strike in all towns and cities of Daraa starting Thursday, July 29, after violating all agreements by the criminal Regime and its sectarian militias, given what is being woven to Daraa al-Balad in particular and Daraa in general.

Several checkpoints of the Assad forces in the eastern and western countryside of Daraa witnessed, on Wednesday-Thursday night, being targeted with machine guns by unknown persons, in response to the Regime's bombing of Daraa al-Balad neighborhoods with heavy weapons.

Nine Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) expressed concern about the situation in Daraa al-Balad in a joint statement on food shortages and basic needs, such as medicines and drinking water, the joint statement also referred to reports of communications and electricity cuts in the besieged area.

But Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief and European Commission Vice President, downplayed the seriousness of the siege imposed by the Regime on Daraa al-Balad.

It is noteworthy that the recent events in Daraa showed the “failure of the Russian role” in southern Syria in the face of the increasing Iranian influence, in addition, Russia appears incapable of playing the role of guarantor of agreements that it has sought since 2018 to pacify the region.