Residents of Syria’s Daraa call international community to intervene, rescue besieged neighborhoods

Houses in Daraa al-Ballad neighborhood destroyed by the bombardment of the government forces and pro-Iranian factions – North Press
Houses in Daraa al-Ballad neighborhood destroyed by the bombardment of the government forces and pro-Iranian factions – North Press

DARAA, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, residents and activists in Daraa city appealed, in a statement, to  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, and the Security Council to intervene quickly and save the lives of residents of the besieged neighborhoods of Daraa.

“More than 50 people of the neighborhoods of Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sad and the IDP camps are at risk of being subjected to genocide due to the siege imposed on them by the government forces and pro-Iranian factions for 75 days,” the statement said.

The statement also referred to the escalation of threats by the government forces to storm the besieged neighborhoods of Daraa.

On Friday, Central Committee spokesman in Daraa Adnan al-Masalma said  that the Russian-brokered agreement with Syrian government forces is collapsing and the has reached a “dead end” as a result of the government’s new conditions that have not been previously included in its terms.

“4th Division and pro-Iranian members are the main reason for restricting the demands, making them impossible to achieve,” he added.

He said that they demanded Russia and government security forces allow people to flee either to Jordan or Turkey.

On Tuesday, a meeting was held between Horan notables, the Central Committee and the Fifth Corps on the one hand and the security committee of the government forces under Russian auspices on the other hand.

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 IDP 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.

However, sources close to the Central Committee said that the 4th Division asked to surrender all the weapons and deploy additional military points in addition to a complete inspection campaign in Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sad and the IDP camps and deploy an unlimited number of checkpoints in the residential neighborhoods.

 Masalma considered these conditions “an affront to people’s honor.”

Reporting by Ihsan Muhammad