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Syrian state vehicles, accompanied by Russian military police, entered an area of Daraa city on Thursday to raise the national flag over an area held by the opposition for years, witnesses said, leaving President Bashar al-Assad poised for another big victory in the seven-year-long Syrian conflict.
Cranes from the state-run Daraa municipal council erected a flag pole near the mosque where the eruption of large protests in March 2011 was widely seen as heralding the start of the conflict.
Government forces backed by Russia have recovered swathes of opposition-held Daraa province at the border with Jordan in a major offensive that got underway last month and has forced many of the opposition to give up territory in negotiated surrender deals.
Five civilians were killed in a regime airstrike in the northwestern Idlib province on Tuesday, according to a local civil defense official.Twenty-four other people were injured in the raid that targeted residential areas in the opposition-held province, Mustafa Haj Yousuff, head of the White Helmets civil defense agency in Idlib, told Anadolu Agency.Idlib was designated as "de-escalation zone" in May 2017 in which acts of aggression are expressly forbidden.Nevertheless, the Bashar al-Assad regime and Russian forces have continued to carry out attacks on the region.Assad forces deploy along Syria’s border with JordanIsrael threatens 'harsh response' to any Syrian forces in demilitarised GolanSyrian opposition says army besieges their enclave in southern Deraa
Regime airstrike kills five in Syria’s Idlib
The opposition holed up in part of Daraa city are still in talks with Russian officers, with many of them aiming to secure safe passage to opposition-held areas of northern Syria. The talks were expected to resume on Thursday.
A large convoy of Russian military police was expected to enter the devastated area later.
Some 2,000 opposition fighters are holed up in the opposition-held part of Daraa city, along with their families. Many want to leave due to fear of how the government will treat them.
The Turkish army on Tuesday completed its 12th round of patrols in the northern Syrian city of Manbij as part of a deal with the U.S. to rid the area of the terror group YPG/PKK.In a message posted on its official Twitter account, the Turkish General Staff said both countries' forces conducted separate coordinated patrols in the region between areas liberated by Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield and Manbij.The first patrols by Turkish and U.S. troops in the region began on June 18.The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from the city in order to stabilize the region.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, including many women and children. The YPG/PKK is its Syrian branch.Should the Manbij model prove a success, Turkey will push for a similar arrangement in eastern Syria.Turkey has said the presence of terror forces near its border constitutes a threat and has launched military operations and other efforts to rid the region of terrorists.Turkish army conducts 11th round of patrols in ManbijPeople of Manbij long for Turkey's interventionPKK conducts series of attacks as US-Turkey deal in Manbij comes into forceTurkey neutralizes over 4,500 terrorists in Afrin: Army
Turkish army conducts 12th tour of patrols in Manbij