Government forces conduct arrests, build posts in Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – For the second consecutive week, Syrian government forces continue to besiege the town of Jassem in the northern countryside of Daraa, south Syria.
The government forces also built new military posts in the outskirts of the town.
On Sunday, a local source told North Press that the government forces set up a new mobile checkpoint close to the al-Salam school on the road linking Jassem with Nawa, west of Daraa.
The source added that soldiers at the checkpoint arrested a number of young men wanted on lists of the compulsory service as they were going to the town of Nawa.
Muhammad Ma’moun al-Ghothani and Khalil al-Ghothani from the town of Inkhil in north of Daraa were among those arrested, the source indicated.
On September 9, Muhammad Khair Abdulsalam al-Jibawi and Malik Tayseer al-Dibis were arrested by government forces to serve in the compulsory service.
On Saturday, a checkpoint held by members of the Air Force Security Branch, close to the Pump Station in south of Jassem arrested ten people who were released later in return for large amounts of money.
Members running the checkpoint called on arrestees to contact their families to pay five million SYP per capita for their release.
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in 2018, the governorate has been living in a state of insecurity, with assassinations, arrests and thefts taking place on a daily basis.
On September 7, Brigadier Lou’ay al-Ali, head of the Military Security Branch of the Syrian government threatened, in a meeting with notables of Jassem, to storm the town demanding “strangers” be exited from the town.
In July 2018, the opposition armed factions and government forces reached a settlement agreement mediated by Russia in the opposition-held areas in Daraa Governorate. Under the deal, the opposition militants who agreed to hand over their heavy weapons were handed a settlement card and allowed to stay in Daraa, while those opposed the agreement would go to Idlib, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).