The atmosphere of tension returned to the governorate of Daraa in southern Syria, especially the Daraa al-Balad region, two days after the détente that took place following an agreement reached between representatives of the people and the Syrian regime under Russian auspices. The people say that the regime overturned the agreement with Russian support.

Activist Abu Muhammad al-Hourani told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the Fourth Division militias and the Iranian militias resumed targeting residential neighborhoods in Daraa Al-Balad yesterday, Friday, after their success in torpedoing the agreement,” noting that “the militias that have besieged Daraa Al-Balad for about 75 days, At night, residential neighborhoods were bombed with machine guns, after two days of cautious calm while implementing provisions of the latest agreement.”

Al-Hourani added that the regime “apparently prepared itself to attack the agreement, as its reconnaissance planes are flying in the sky of Daraa al-Balad and the surrounding besieged areas, while the regime forces have brought buses with members of the regime’s Syrian Red Crescent, in preparation for the displacement of the people.”

Friday afternoon witnessed the collapse of the negotiations sponsored by Russia between the negotiating committees in Daraa and the security committee of the regime, amid mutual accusations between the two sides about the failure of these negotiations, due to the refusal of the Daraa committees to hand over all weapons and allow the regime forces to enter and randomly inspect the neighborhoods of Daraa. The Russian side commissions Daraa to violate the agreement, which stipulates the surrender of all weapons and work on new settlements for all local militants.

Limited options

When asked by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, lawyer Adnan Al-Masalma, spokesperson for the Central Negotiating Committee representing the people of Daraa, about the reason for these complications, and whether the agreement was clear and the regime retracted it, or is there a difference in interpretation, he answered, “The reason is that the options before us were limited. Either we accept that Daraa al-Balad becomes a military barracks because of the large number of security points there, or we fight a war in which all the rest of the houses are destroyed after the heavy bombardment that Daraa al-Balad has been subjected to since the beginning of the siege and the killing of innocents, or we leave our homes and land to preserve our lives.”

Al-Masalma confirmed that the Central Committee specified the Russian to be the destination of the expulsion exclusively to the Jordanian or Turkish territories. He announced before that that they had reached a dead end in negotiating with the regime over Daraa al-Balad, because of the “impossible conditions put forward by the regime’s security committee, namely, the complete surrender of weapons and the search of civilian homes.”

Representatives of the people say that the agreement provided for the settlement of the status of about 40 wanted persons to the regime, handing over their weapons, and establishing four military points whose members belong to one of the security branches without the entry of any army forces or heavy military vehicles.

According to local networks, the Russian officers and head of the security committee of the regime, Major General Hossam Louka, requested an increase in the number of military points to nine, and they presented a map of the points, all of which are located within residential neighborhoods. In addition to the Quneitra School, Al-Qubba and Al-Harsh site, and Al-Shabiba building in the Al-Sad Road neighborhood.

Russia and the regime also demanded once again the surrender of all weapons in the besieged neighborhoods, contrary to what the two parties agreed upon two days ago, in addition to carrying out a wide inspection campaign in the besieged neighborhoods. According to the sources, the Russian and regime officers tried during a meeting yesterday, Friday, to limit the agreement to Daraa al-Balad only, excluding other neighborhoods, with the aim of carrying out a military campaign targeting the camp neighborhoods and the road to the dam under the pretext of the presence of wanted persons by the regime.

With the collapse of the agreement, the negotiating committee called on the Russian general and the security committee to secure the displacement of everyone who wanted to leave the city of Daraa to a safe place in Turkey or Jordan, according to the official spokesman, Adnan al-Masalmah, who confirmed the rejection of the people of Daraa al-Balad having military points inside residential neighborhoods, and handing over all Individual weapons, and their agreement to settle the status of a number of young men in Daraa al-Balad.

A major point of contention

In his interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, activist Muhammad Al-Hourani said that “the main point of contention is the request to increase the checkpoints and military points inside Daraa Al-Balad, through which the regime wants to impose close control on the people, besiege their movement and blackmail them, in addition to separating the Daraa Al-Balad area from the neighborhood of Daraa Al-Balad.” Al Sadd Road and Daraa Camp, in preparation for launching a search and arrest campaign in the area to search for those wanted by the regime.

For its part, the regime’s “SANA” agency accused what it described as militants of obstructing the implementation of the latest agreement, due to their retraction from implementing conditions they had previously accepted, foremost of which is the delivery of light and medium weapons.

Earlier this month, the two sides had reached a new agreement that stipulated a 3-day ceasefire, during which settlements would be made and part of the weapons would be handed over, in addition to establishing military points with the participation of the Russian-backed Eighth Brigade, after which the siege would be lifted from the besieged neighborhoods, without entry into the system.

In addition, two people were killed and another wounded, as a result of a shooting attack carried out by unknown persons, near the “Al-Jahmani” press, between the towns of Al-Naima and Sidon, east of Daraa. The “Ahrar Houran Gathering” website stated that the three young men work for the Military Security branch in the area.

On Friday, the regime forces launched a campaign of arrests of more than 15 young people from the town of Qarfa in the countryside of Daraa, under the pretext of burning property and breaking houses, after the people staged demonstrations and closed a number of roads.

In addition, the people and activists of the city of Daraa appealed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, its special envoy Geir Pedersen, the foreign ministers of the member states of the Security Council, and the ambassadors of countries friends of Syria, to intervene quickly to save the lives of the people in Daraa.

In a statement issued yesterday, Friday, he urged the people to move to save more than 50,000 civilians “threatened by genocide after the harsh siege imposed by the Assad regime on Daraa 75 days ago, in light of the barbaric military attacks and indiscriminate artillery shelling on civilian homes and neighborhoods with the participation of Iranian militias.” aimed at imposing Iran’s control over southern Syria.”