2013 Daraa offensive The 2013 Daraa offensive was a campaign during the Syrian civil war launched by the FSA in the Daraa Governorate to capture the strategic border area . The offensive began in early March 2013 . During the campaign , rebel forces captured several bases and towns . The offensive was eventually halted following an Army counter - attack in mid - April , which resulted in the recapture of a few towns . Background . In early 2013 , rebels in southern Syria started receiving an influx of foreign - funded weapons over the border from Jordan . This gave them a new momentum , with the rebels preparing an offensive to capture the strategically important region along the border with Jordan that would give them a critical gateway to attempt an attack on the capital , Damascus . Offensive . Rebel attack . On 3 March , rebels seized an artillery battalion in Jalma village near the Israeli Armistice line . 8 rebels were killed in the fighting , and SOHR stated that the rebels summarily executed the battalion commander . On 23 March , several rebel groups captured the 38th division air defense base of the Syrian Army in near a strategic highway linking Damascus to Jordan , and killed the base commander , General Mahmoud Darwish . On the next day , rebels captured a 25 km strip of land near the Jordanian border , which included the towns of Muzrib , Abdin , and the Al - Rai military checkpoint . On 29 March , rebels seized control of the strategic town of Da ' el , located 10 miles from the Jordanian border , after days of fierce fighting which left 38 people dead , including 16 rebels . On 3 April , rebels captured the air defense base of the 49th battalion of the Syrian Army in the town of Alma in the northern outskirts of Daraa . On 5 April , rebels captured an Army garrison defending the main border crossing into Jordan , after a week - long siege in which dozens were reportedly killed . Government counter - attack . On 10 April , the Syrian Army launched a counter - attack on the town of Sanamein and Ghabagheb , seizing control of Sanamein . Syrian state TV reported that the Army launched operations against Tafas , Dael and Jassim as well . 54 people were killed during the fighting in Sanamein : 29 civilians , 16 rebels , 9 soldiers and three defectors . Aftermath . On 8 May , government forces captured the strategic town of Khirbet Ghazaleh , situated along the highway to the Jordanian border . Over 1 , 000 rebel fighters withdrew from the town due to the lack of reinforcements and ammunition . The loss of the town also resulted in the reopening of the government supply - route to the contested city of Daraa . The rebels continued to withdraw from other towns and decided not to face the Army ' s advance along the highway because they no longer had ammunition . However , later in the day , an opposition commander claimed that the retreat was part of a rebel plan to set up a trap for government forces and that the opposition fighters managed to recapture the town . Still , this was denied by the opposition group SOHR which stated that the rebels had managed only to recapture one neighbourhood and fighting was still ongoing in the town . On 12 May , government forces took complete control of Khirbet Ghazaleh and secured the highway near the town . By early June , according to Jordanian border guards and militias , the rebels were conducting primitive attacks against Syrian Army positions on the other side of the border . “ They attack the checkpoints in a primitive way , ” according to a Jordanian commander . “ Sometimes you see them holding their weapons awkwardly and wasting their ammunition . They almost never take advantage of the vehicles and equipment the Syrians leave behind . It is clear from watching them that they are not well - trained . ” The Syrian military was edging closer towards the border and their success against the rebels was credited to the recent arrival of more improved gear and vehicles , not seen before , for the Syrian Army . These include drones , anti - mortar systems and communications jamming devices . The anti - mortar systems deployed in some areas allow the Syrian military to trace the source of mortar fire and even strike before the rebels launch an attack . In late June , rebel forces were in fear of being routed by the Army in southern Syria and losing control of their safe zones on the Jordanian border . By 26 June , government forces had captured the villages of Itlaa and Basr As Sham and fighting was raging outside the village of al - Sheikh Maskin . On 28 June , rebels , including units of Al - Nusra Front , took control of the strategically important Binayat checkpoint in Daraa city . They also occupied the area around the Omari mosque in the southern part of the city , which was a focal point of the initial protests in March 2011 . On August 8 , Ahmad Jarba , president of the Western - backed Syrian National Coalition , crossed from Jordan into rebel - held territory in Daraa Province to meet with refugees and observe Id al - Fitr . He was accompanied by Ahmad Nima , leader of the FSA Daraa Military Council . On 28 September , rebels including groups linked to Al Qaeda seized the Ramtha border crossing on the Syria Jordon border after days of fighting which left 26 soldiers dead along with 7 foreign rebel fighters . On 9 October , rebels seized the Hajanar border crossing on the Jordanian border near Daraa after a month of fierce fighting . Its fall meant rebels were now in control of a swath of territory along the border from outside of Daraa to the edge of Golan Heights . On 21 October , FSA chief Yasser Abbud ( aka Abu Ammar ) , leader of the Fallujah - Houran brigade was killed during fighting with the army in Tafas . He was once the commander of the military council of the FSA .