Syrian troops advance in their offensive in country's south

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media say government forces have advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sunday troops have made territorial gains in al-Lujat and other areas including the village of Jadal on the eastern edge of Daraa province where fighting has concentrated for the past five days.

Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said thousands of people are fleeing the government offensive, adding that airstrikes have intensified since the early hours of Sunday.

State news agency SANA said that rebels shelled the southern government-held city of Sweida wounding three people in the government offensive on the region that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. </s> BEIRUT — Syrian state media say government forces have advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sunday troops have made territorial gains in al-Lujat and other areas including the village of Jadal on the eastern edge of Daraa province where fighting has concentrated for the past five days.

Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said thousands of people are fleeing the government offensive, adding that airstrikes have intensified since the early hours of Sunday.

State news agency SANA said that rebels shelled the southern government-held city of Sweida wounding three people in the government offensive on the region that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Fighting escalated in southern Syria as government forces on Tuesday pushed deeper into rebel-held territories in Daraa province under the cover of airstrikes. The United Nations estimated that up to 50,000 people have been displaced by the weeklong offensive.

Jordan said its borders will remain closed for any new refugees, calling on the U.N. to provide security in southern Syria.

Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said aid officials were "deeply concerned" for those fleeing the fighting and heading toward the sealed border with Jordan. He called on warring parties to "ensure the protection of these civilians, according to international law."

Daraa's residents described living in extreme fear and said many had also headed to the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, believing it to be safer.

The escalation in Daraa, near the border with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, came as Syria's state media reported that two Israeli missiles struck an area near the Damascus International Airport early on Tuesday, without naming a specific target.

Since last Tuesday, Syrian troops have targeted rebel-held areas in eastern Daraa, one of the country's last major rebel strongholds.

The strategic area was part of a truce deal reached last July between the United States, Russia and Jordan.

The offensive's goal appears to be regaining control of the border crossing with Jordan, which has been in rebel hands since 2015.President Bashar Assad's recent military victories, including the capture of Damascus suburbs and southern neighborhoods, have propelled the push.

Opposition activists said Syrian and Russian warplanes are taking part in the offensive. Russia's air force threw its weight behind Assad's forces in 2015, turning the tide of the war in his favor.

On Tuesday, the pro-government Central Military Media said Syrian troops gained control of al-Lujat, a rocky area in northeastern Daraa. It said the capture would have a domino effect on other parts east of Daraa and cut rebel supply lines.

Other pro-government media said the army intends to bring the entire province under its control and is likely to move on to western Daraa, where it has conducted a series of airstrikes Monday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war-monitoring group, reported that government troops were advancing in al-Lujat and captured seven new villages in the area.

Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani denied the government controlled parts of al-Lujat, saying the area, known for its caves and rocky plains, will be a challenge for Assad's troops.

Waseem Kiwan, a 36-year old civilian in the village of Tafas north of Daraa city said nothing is spared in the intensive bombing campaign, including makeshift hospitals, civil defense centers and U.N. affiliated offices.

"The area is heading toward a catastrophe, a humanitarian catastrophe in every sense of the word," he said. "People are living in extreme fear."

Kiwan said many are heading toward the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

"The safest place is the border with Israel because the regime and Russian airplanes cannot strike the area near the Israeli border," he said.

Younis Shtawi, a police officer in the Daraa village of Umm al-Mayadeen, said several villages, including Busra al-Harir, Atesh and communities in al-Lujat have been emptied of people in recent days.

"No one stayed," Shtawi said.

The U.S. has said the Syrian offensive risked broadening the conflict and called on Russia to end what it called violations of the truce.

Israel has also carried out a series of strikes recently on Syrian and Iranian forces in the area, warning against the expansion of Iran's role in Syria. Iranian advisers and Iran-backed militias are embedded with Syrian troops.

The U.N. World Food Program put the number of displaced from the Daraa fighting at nearly 50,000, saying it has delivered urgently-needed food across the Syria-Jordan border in the west. It said the fighting closed supply routes, causing a spike in prices of fuel and other basic supplies.

"We're sleeping in the open air, under the trees, in the mosques and schools. Those lucky to find a tent have to share it with four or five other families," a displaced man named Nidal told WFP.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urged the U.N. to provide security in southern Syria. "Our borders will remain closed," Safadi wrote on his Twitter account.

Jordan is already hosting about 660,000 registered Syrian refugees and estimates that the number of displaced Syrians in the overburdened country is twice as high.

Tuesday's attack near the Damascus airport were the latest blamed on Israel. Such strikes have increased in frequency amid soaring tensions between Israel and Iran, a major Assad ally.

State news agency SANA said the strike came shortly after midnight Monday. The Observatory said Israeli jets flew over the Golan Heights and targeted suspected weapons depots for Iranian-backed militias near the Damascus airport. There were no reports of casualties.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which rarely responds to the claims.

SANA linked the strike to the Daraa offensive, saying it comes amid "major losses" for the rebels and repeating the government's claims that Israel supports "terrorists" operating within Syria. </s> BEIRUT — Syrian government forces advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa on Sunday under the cover of air strikes, entering new villages amid reports that the U.S. has told rebels not to expect an American intervention to defend them from the army’s offensive.

Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in eastern parts of Daraa province for the past five days in an operation that aims to reach a main border crossing with Jordan. The push comes two months after government forces regained control of rebel-held eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus that freed thousands of government soldiers for the new battle in Daraa province.

Opposition activists have been reporting that President Bashar Assad’s government has sent some of its elite units to the south including the Republican Guards and the Tiger force that is commanded by Brig. General Suheil al-Hassan who is widely known as Nimr, Arabic for tiger.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said the U.S. has informed rebel groups in southern Syria that Washington will not intervene in the operations to defend them against the government offensive that is ongoing under the cover of Russian air strikes.

Two U.S. officials discounted the claim. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Denying the rebels support would be a reversal from earlier pronouncements. The United States warned last month it would take “firm and appropriate measures” to protect a cease-fire in southern Syria if government forces move against rebels there.

“It is clear that since yesterday the Russians and the (Syrian) regime have been given the green light to regain control of Houran,” Hourani said referring to the region that includes Daraa, the nearby region of Quneitra and parts of Sweida province. “The proof is that after the rebels received the (American) message Russian warplanes joined the battle.”

The United States, Russia, and Jordan agreed last year to include Daraa in a “de-escalation zone” and freeze the lines of conflict there. But the area has been tense following a series of recent Israeli strikes on Syrian and Iranian forces. Iran is a close ally of Assad, and its advisers are embedded with his troops.

Bassem Mroue is an Associated Press writer. </s> Syrian government forces advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa Sunday under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages amid reports that the U.S. has told rebels not to expect an American intervention to defend them from the army's offensive.

Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in eastern parts of Daraa province for the past five days in an operation that aims to reach a main border crossing point with Jordan. The push comes two months after government forces regained control of eastern rebel-held eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus that freed thousands of government soldiers for the new battle in Daraa province.

Opposition activists have been reporting for days that President Bashar Assad's government has sent some of its elite units to the south including the Republican Guards and the Tiger force that is commanded by Brig. General Suheil al-Hassan who is widely known as Nimr, Arabic for tiger.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said that the U.S. has informed rebel groups in southern Syria that Washington will not intervene in the operations to defend them against the government offensive that is ongoing under the cover of Russian airstrikes.

There was no immediate comment from Washington but if true the decision would be a major reversal from earlier pronouncements.

The United States warned last month it would take "firm and appropriate measures" to protect a cease-fire in southern Syria if government forces move against rebels there. The region has also been a source of regional tensions between Iran and Israel in recent months.

"It is clear that since yesterday the Russians and the (Syrian) regime have been given the green light to regain control of Houran," Hourani said referring to the region that includes Daraa, the nearby region of Quneitra and parts of Sweida province. "The proof is that after the rebels received the (American) message Russian warplanes joined the battle."

The United States, Russia, and Jordan agreed last year to include Daraa in a "de-escalation zone" and freeze the lines of conflict there. But the area has been tense following a series of recent Israeli strikes on Syrian and Iranian forces. Iran is a close ally of Assad, and its advisers are embedded with his troops.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sunday that troops made territorial gains in al-Lujat and other areas including the village of Jadal on the eastern edge of Daraa province.

Russia's Defense Ministry said some rebels have voluntarily joined forces with Syrian government forces adding that Syrian troops repelled an attack by al-Qaida-linked fighters in Daraa.

State news agency SANA said that rebels shelled the southern government-held city of Sweida wounding three people.

The Observatory said government forces reached the rebel-stronghold of Busra al-Harir where fighting is ongoing inside the town.

In an interview aired Sunday, Assad said Syria has not possessed chemical weapons since it got rid of them five years ago and that allegations of their use are a pretext for invasion by other countries. Assad's comments came in an interview with Russia's state-controlled NTV television channel.

"We fully eliminated chemical weapons. We haven't had them in Syria since 2013," Assad said in the interview.

Syria has been charged repeatedly with using chemical weapons in its civil war, most recently in April in the town of Douma. The United States, France and the United Kingdom launched air strikes in retaliation.

"Americans constantly lie and attack immediately," Assad said in the interview.

Assad said reconstructing Syria after the devastation wrought by the war could cost $400, but said "we have enough means to restore our country, we are sure about that" and that funds could be sought from the Syrian diaspora.

Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report. </s> BEIRUT: Syrian regime forces on Saturday made their first gains on the ground against rebel fighters in the southern province of Daraa after several days of intensified bombardment, a monitor said.

Since Tuesday, regime troops have been ramping up shelling on opposition-held areas in Daraa´s eastern countryside ahead of an apparent military offensive against rebels there.

“Regime troops made their first advance in the area since the military escalation on Tuesday, seizing the villages of Al-Bustan and Al-Shumariya in the eastern part of Daraa province,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The shelling and clashes are currently focused on a wedge of rebel territory between Daraa´s eastern countryside and the western part of the neighbouring province of Sweida.

The army seems to want to split that wedge into a northern and southern section, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said, “to facilitate their operations and increase the pressure on rebel factions, allowing it to advance more quickly.” Syrian state news agency SANA also reported the advance, saying army units edged forwards against rebels in Daraa´s east.

After securing the capital Damascus, Syrian troops have turned to the country´s south, where rebels still hold a majority of the provinces of Daraa and Sweida.

Southern Syria is a particularly strategic zone: it borders both Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and also lies close to Damascus. Military reinforcements have been streaming into the south, despite it being designated a de-escalation zone last year where violence is supposed to be reduced.

The Observatory has noted an “ongoing escalation of shelling and clashes in eastern and northeastern parts of Daraa province.” The regime has used air strikes and artillery and has even resumed dropping notorious barrel bombs on Daraa province.

Barrel bombs slammed into the town of Al-Herak on Friday in the first use of the weapon on Daraa in nearly a year, according to the Observatory.

The escalation has left at least 17 civilians dead since Tuesday across rebel areas, according to the Britain-based monitor. Some 12,000 people have been displaced from Daraa province in recent days, the Observatory said.

The United Nations has also warned that increasing violence is putting the lives of 750,000 people in rebel parts of the south at risk.

Even as the regime hints at a looming assault, talks between international brokers may see a negotiated settlement for Syria’s south. </s> Syrian government forces are keeping up their pressure on the country's strategic southwest, using artillery, airstrikes and dropping barrel bombs that target rebel-held parts of the region, activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 12 barrel bombs hit the province of Daraa, the first use of the rudimentary and non-discriminatory weapons there in over a year.

Rockets and artillery shells have also targeted northern and eastern Daraa, and there were reports of overnight airstrikes on Busr al-Harir, a northeast Daraa town where government troops are trying to isolate the rebels.

Rebel factions, meanwhile, said they responded with missiles at a government air base in the adjacent Sweida province.

The Observatory said 16 people have been killed in government strikes since Tuesday, including nine children. At least 12,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.

The government campaign in the southwestern Syrian region bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights comes despite U.S. warnings of "serious repercussions" for anyone violating a de-escalation agreement in place since last July.

The truce, referred to as a de-escalation zone, was negotiated between Russia, the Syrian government's main ally, Washington and Jordan and has kept the area calm.

But the truce began to unravel in recent weeks as the Russia- and Iran-backed Syrian government turned its attention southward, after seizing opposition-held areas near the capital, Damascus. Israel, meanwhile, has grown more active in protesting Iran's expansion in Syria, carrying out airstrikes against suspected Iranian targets in the area.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said yesterday that Washington was "deeply troubled" by the Syrian government operations in the area and called on Moscow to "restrain" its ally from further actions that risk broadening the conflict.

The region is a mix of government and rebel-controlled areas, with rebels controlling parts of Daraa city and areas along the border.

For breaking news & Instant updates throughout the day </s> Syrian government forces kept up their pressure on the country's strategic southwest Friday, using artillery and airstrikes and dropping barrel bombs that targeted rebel-held parts of the region, activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 12 barrel bombs hit the province of Daraa, in the first use of the rudimentary and non-discriminatory weapons there in over a year when a truce went into effect in the area. Rockets and artillery shells have also targeted northern and eastern Daraa, and there were reports of overnight airstrikes on Busr al-Harir, a northeast Daraa town where government troops are trying to isolate the rebels.

The government campaign in the southwestern Syrian region bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights comes despite U.S. warnings of "serious repercussions" for anyone violating a de-escalation agreement in place since last July. The de-escalation zone was negotiated by Russia, the Syrian government's main ally, Washington and Jordan.

Rebel factions, meanwhile, said they responded with missiles at a government air base in the adjacent Sweida province.

The Observatory said 16 people have been killed in government strikes since Tuesday, including nine children. At least 12,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the area since, according to the war monitor.

The agreement has been unraveling in recent weeks as the Syrian government turned its attention southward, after seizing opposition-held areas near the capital, Damascus. Israel, meanwhile, has become more active in opposing Iran's expansion in Syria, carrying out airstrikes against suspected Iranian targets in the area.

Iran is a major backer of President Bashar al-Assad, and its military advisers and allied militias such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, have been fighting alongside his troops.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Thursday that Washington was "deeply troubled" by the Syrian government operations in the area and called on Moscow to "restrain" its ally from further actions that risk broadening the conflict.

Southwestern Syria is a mix of government and rebel-controlled areas, with rebels controlling parts of Daraa city and areas along the border with Jordan and the occupied Golan Heights.

Russia and the Syrian government have been pressing for an agreement with the rebels in the area to restore government authority, including over the commercial crossing with Jordan that has been out of its control for years. Talks over extending the de-escalation zone have faltered, although Assad said last week that Moscow, the U.S. and Israel continued discussing a settlement in the area.

Israel wants Iranian-backed militias out of the border area. Jordan wants to avoid a humanitarian crisis at its borders with the renewed violence and is eager to see the border crossing with Syria reopened. The U.N. estimates that 750,000 Syrians live in the region, which has been spared the devastation that hit other parts of Syria in the last three years.

The Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, told the Lebanese al-Akhbar daily that Israel fears the presence of Hezbollah and Iran in the south.

"We say that the Syrian army, with support from the Russian troops, is regaining control of its territories and restoring the state authority there," Zasypkin said. "There is no justification for Israel to carry out any action that would hamper fighting terrorism."

Meanwhile, highlighting the tension in the southern area, skirmishes late Thursday between a U.S.-backed rebel group and pro-government forces miles away were followed by a U.S. airstrike that left a Syrian soldier killed, Syrian media and a U.S. official said.

The U.S maintains a base in Tanf, miles east of Daraa province where the government has been striking rebel positions.

A U.S. official said that during a patrol by the U.S.-backed fighters inside a de-confliction zone around the base, a small number of pro-government forces fired at them from outside of the zone. U.S. and aligned forces retreated, but the pro-government forces continued to fire, the official said.

A U.S. airstrike was later called in, in "self-defense," said the official who wasn't authorized to discuss the situation publicly and insisted on anonymity. The airstrike in the al-Halba area killed one soldier, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

The U.S. official said the airstrike was near the de-confliction zone around the base, where the U.S. trains Syrian fighters, and which was agreed to in a deal between the U.S. and Russia. The Syrian government and its Iranian allies want the U.S. to evacuate the base. </s> Local media reported that former militants from the Free Syria Army had sided with the Syrian Arab Army against the Daesh-affiliated* terrorists in the southern province of Daraa.

READ MORE: Evacuation of Militants to North Syria Begins in Daraa – Reports

A Russian field reporter has recorded the ongoing terrorist offensive, suggesting that over 500 ex-militants were currently fighting alongside government forces after the ceasefire was reached.

Last month the Reconciliation Center announced that the first group of Free Syrian Army militants had joined government forces in the southern de-escalation zone.

“On June 22, after talks between the representatives of the Russian Reconciliation Center and the Syrian authorities with the militants of the Free Syrian Army in the southern zone of de-escalation, the leader of the Tajammu al-Wiyat al-Omari [Omari Brigades] announced that his group is siding with the Syrian government.”

The Syrian Army stepped up its offensive in Daraa after its capital and a number of other cities were shelled by local militants despite a ceasefire. Earlier in July, the government secured control of most of the province with the help of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria.

Under the reconciliation deal, a group of militants agreed to surrender arms, halt hostilities and return to peaceful life, while others, who didn’t want to reconcile with the country’s authorities, would be evacuated from the province along with their families.

“As a result of the talks with the leaders of armed groups in the province of Daraa, under the mediation of the Russian Center for Reconciliation, an agreement on the following issues [has been reached]: the cessation of hostilities, the beginning of the delivery of heavy and medium weapons in all settlements under the control of armed groups,” the reconciliation center stated in a July 7 report.

Slightly over a week ago, a source in the security services told Sputnik that nearly 1,500 had militants left the suburbs of Daraa for Idlib in Syria’s northwest.
The Syrian government launches a ground offensive in the eastern part of the southern province of Daraa.