Local committees refuse Russian request for help returning refugees to Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – Four members of Daraa’s Central Committee, former opposition figures who made reconciliation with the government in Daraa and its countryside, visited Damascus on Sunday, where they met with Russian officials to discuss several issues, including the possibility of hosting a conference regarding the return of Syrian refugees.
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced last week that Syrian authorities would hold an international conference to promote the return of refugees and displaced people, with Russian participation in organizing it.
The conference could be delayed, in addition to moving its venue, due to the refusal of most of the countries that involved in the Syrian issue to come to the Syrian capital, media reports suggested.
Four members of the Central Committee arrived to Damascus on Sunday with Russian protection and escort and met with Russian commanders and intelligence officers. The Russian officials called for the committee members’ help in providing reassurances for the refugees outside the country to return and secure their protection from being killed and detained, a local source from Daraa stated Tuesday.
The committee members rejected the Russian demand “due to the increasing number of detentions and assassinations against opposition figures during the past three months,” according to the source.
They asked the Russian officials to issue new settlements in Daraa and stabilize the area after conducting demonstrations against government, and its Iranian ally, in addition to the Russian failure, the source added.
The Central Committee in Daraa consists of those in charge of civil affairs including bodies, sheikhs, and former opposition leaders.
Those committees could guarantee postponements for military defectors. Previously, more than 1,000 people who had made reconciliation with the Syrian government were detained by government forces, according to the source.
The Committee’s tasks were to call on the Syrian government and the Russian guarantor to implement the terms of the settlement agreement that took place in July 2018, which included releasing detainees. The agreement included “the return of the displaced people to their homes, re-operation of government institutions, securing services, and making settlements for the defectors, deserters, and evaders of military service.”
Additionally, the committees could facilitate the defection of opposition fighters to the Russian-backed Fifth Corps and allow government employees to return to their jobs.
The number of attacks and assassinations in Daraa has reached about 742 from June 2019 to the end of October 2020, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. These attacks killed about 491 people, including 136 civilians, 12 women and 15 children, 216 government soldiers, and 93 individuals who had made reconciliation with the Syrian government.