page_title: Daraa offensive (February–June 2017)
section_title: Offensive stalls and Army counter-attack
hierarchical_section_title: Daraa offensive (February–June 2017) / The offensive / Offensive stalls and Army counter-attack
caption_attribution_description: English: Syrian opposition fighters advance in the al-Manishiyah District in Daraa city during the rebel offensive in early 2017.
context_page_description: The Daraa offensive (February–June 2017), code named as the battle of "Death Rather than Humiliation" by the rebels, was a military operation launched by Syrian rebels against positions of the Syrian Arab Army in the Manshiyah District of Daraa city, in southern Syria, during the Syrian Civil War.
context_section_description: On 20 February, the rebels launched the "third phase" of their offensive with fighting intensifying. However, the same day, an ISIL affiliate, the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, took advantage of the rebels' redirection of personnel for the assault on Manshiyah and launched its own offensive west of Daraa against the rebels. The Khalid ibn al-Walid Army captured Tasil, as well as four other towns and villages and a hill. The rebels managed to recapture only two towns. Over a period of three days, 132 people were killed in the jihadi offensive, mostly combatants. Due to the attack on rebel positions, the offensive in Daraa city stalled.
  The Syrian Army reportedly recaptured some positions in a joint Hezbollah, NDF, and 5th Armored Division counter-attack on 23 February. However, the same day, a rebel suicide-bomber blew himself up near an Army checkpoint amid a renewed rebel attempt to break through government fortifications in the city. The following day, the Russian Navy launched long-range ballistic missiles at rebel positions in the al-Bilad district in retaliation for the suicide-bombing.
  On 24 February, a rebel Omar rocket strike targeted Muawiyas in the Manshiyah district; government sources claimed a school was destroyed. The same day, Republican Guard reinforcements arrived in Daraa, numbering 500 troops, ahead of a major Army counter-attack. Pro-rebel sources later claimed that Jordan expelled families of rebel fighters killed in the offensive.
  On 5 March, the Army launched a new counter-attack, and reported capturing several buildings in Daraa Al-Bilad neighborhood, taking advantage of the lack of rebel manpower which was diverted to repel the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army's offensive. The next day, the 5th Armoured division of the Republican Guard recaptured a few building blocks in Manshiyah, thus almost completely reversing rebel gains made in February. The Army made additional gains in the Al-Bilad neighborhood and seized some areas around the Al-Musarif Roundabout on 8 March.
caption: Rebel fighters advance in the al-Manshiyah District.
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