Despite ceasefire agreement, civilian killed by Syrian government forces in Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – A farmer was killed in the city of Tafas in the western countryside of Daraa, southern Syria on Friday morning, by a government forces’ sniper, in conjunction with the entry of a Russian patrol into the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad to implement of the ceasefire agreement.
Local sources said that 33-year-old Basil Mahmoud al-Rifa’i was killed while working on his farm near the city of Tafas, and he was not affiliated with any military authority.
A Russian military police patrol entered the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad this morning, coinciding with intense flight of government forces’ reconnaissance aircraft, according to sources from Daraa al-Balad.
The agreement, which was reached last Tuesday, is still faltering due to the intransigence of the pro-Iranian factions, the sources said.
On August 31, governmental military parties and dignitaries and committees of Daraa agreed to carry out a Russian-sponsored ceasefire, along with implementing the terms of a previous agreement that included settlements and displacement.
The agreement stipulates a ceasefire in Daraa, the deployment of four military checkpoints within the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sad, and the nearby camps, and the delivery of 34 weapons in exchange for settling the situation of wanted persons and lifting the cordon from the besieged neighborhoods of Daraa.
On Thursday, on the second day of the ceasefire agreement, a patrol of the Russian forces and officers of the security committee of the Syria government forces entered the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sadd neighborhood, and the camps in the city of Daraa.
The sources reported that the government forces and the pro-Iranian factions are still applying the siege on Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sad neighborhoods and the camps, and they have not withdrawn in implementation of the agreement.
The source pointed out that the Iranian-backed Fourth Division is demanding an increase in military barriers in Daraa al-Balad and the besieged neighborhoods, in addition to the delivery of a new number of weapons.