DARAA, Syria (North Press) – After the control of Syrian government and a settlement imposed by Russia on the residents of Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, since 2018, the town of Tafas has led the scene of military campaigns.
The government forces have launched three campaigns against the town, the latest was in August.
The campaign ended with the killing of Khaldoun Badawi al-Zoubi on August 25, one of the most prominent former opposition leaders in Tafas, and a member of the negotiating.
Mahmoud al-Hourani, a pseudonym for a leader in al-Zoubi group told North Press that the purpose of the government’s siege of Tafas, specifically the southern neighborhood was the expulsion of the Khaldoun al-Zoubi group or the imposition of negotiations on it.
In August, the government forces imposed a siege on Tafas lasted for about 20 days.
Al-Hourani added that al-Zoubi refused to negotiate directly with the Syrian government. Other people negotiated on his behalf.
Al-Zoubi was among the leaders who met with the government forces’ officers. An agreement was reached regarding halting military operations in Tafas after restricting it for nearly a month and targeting civilians’ houses with heavy machineguns and artillery shelling.
With the continuation of the siege and clashes for more than twenty days, residents and farmers began to pressure al-Zoubi to negotiate
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in 2018, the governorate has been living in a state of insecurity, with one or two daily assassinations targeting soldiers and officers of the government forces, not to mention the spread of thefts.
In 2021, Daraa Governorate went through an 80-day-seige. After that, a number of Daraa’s notables and government forces, with mediation of Russian officers, reached a ceasefire agreement on September 5, 2021, including handing over weapons and deploying governmental security posts in the towns of the governorate.
The most important reasons that prompted the government to campaign against Tafas were that it refused settlement with the Syrian government and it became a center in which the rebels gathered.
Russia wanted the government to finish Tafas issue as soon as possible, according to al-Hourani.
France-based researcher and journalist Hussam al-Barm told North Press that Russia’s absence from the negotiations in Tafas is “natural” in light of its withdrawal from south Syria and the decline in its role in the region.
Russia’s plans and endeavors in southern Syria failed due to its war against Ukraine, al-Barm added.
He pointed out that Russia gave up her role as a guarantor in southern Syria in particular, and in Syria in general, almost due to her dispute with the US.
However, there is no international decision to expel Russia from Syria, not even to weaken it or use the Syrian conflict against it, al-Barm indicated.