Daraa Central Committee calls Russia, UN to end military siege
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, the Central Committee in Daraa appealed to Russia and the United Nations to move quickly and end the siege imposed on the city, and to prevent government forces and Iranian factions from storming or entering the area.
A statement of the Central Committee pointed out that “there is a project of Iranian hegemony over southern Syria; if nobody stands against, it will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.” The statement also predicted massive violations and a wave of displacement towards Jordan and other border areas.
Daraa’s Central Committee consists of anti-government activists, lawyers, sheikhs, and former opposition leaders who engaged in Russian-brokered reconciliations with the Syrian government in 2018, and aims negotiate the terms of the settlements under the auspices of the Russian guarantor.
On Tuesday, the new round of negotiations that included the Central Committee, which is authorized to negotiate with the security committee of the government forces, ended without a final agreement.
A member of the Central Committee told North Press that the representative of the government’s Fourth Division, in the meetings held on Tuesday, informed the committee that the government would not agree with the conditions for entry of forces from the Eighth Brigade of the Russian-backed Fifth Corps and its presence at the checkpoints in Daraa al-Balad.
He added that the representative of the Fourth Division said that there is “no going back” from the conditions mentioned earlier, the most critical of which mandates the storming of the entire city of Daraa, searches of all homes, and the surrender of weapons by local fighters.
About 50,000 people live in Daraa al-Balad, al-Sad Road neighborhood, and the local IDP camp, and all suffer from a lack of food and drinking water.
Last night, government forces stormed the neighborhood of Daraa al-Balad and the besieged neighborhoods amid intense shelling with tanks and mortars, a local source told North Press.
These forces tried to storm the neighborhood from different points the gas station, al-Bahhar, al-Qabba, Khatt al-Nar in al-Sad Road, the source added.