By Rami Diba
(Zaman Al Wasl)- An official source in the Syrian resistance in the south of Damascus confirmed that the factions in the towns of Yalda, Babila, and Beit Sahm did not coordinate or communicate with the parties involved in the Zabadani and Madaya - Kafriya and Al-Fu’ah agreement.
In a statement to Zaman al-Wasl, Abdullah al-Hariri, the head of the political bureau of the al-Ababil Army, said that the Syrian resistance factions in southern Damascus refused to participate in the agreement due to “revolutionary, national and humanitarian reasons”.
In his statement to Zaman al-Wasl, al-Hariri explained that the first reason is the attitude of ‘moderate’ factions in the Syrian resistance towards the ‘hardline’ factions who conducted the agreement. It also represents their position on the sectarian-based displacement operations, “In order not to link the area of southern Damascus with an agreement connected to Hezbollah and Iran’s ambitions to control southern Damascus. "
He added that this does not mean that the area south of Damascus is outside of the circle of political pressure, the dangers of military destruction and forced displacement. It is surrounded by regime forces on the one side, militias subordinate to Iran on another, and the Islamic State forces on a third side.
Al-Hariri pointed out that the possibilities remain open in the south of Damascus given the multiple decision-makers in Damascus such as the security branch representative, the representative of the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the representative of the leadership in Khmeimim base, the Russian headquarters in Syria.
He said that the area south of Damascus, like most of the besieged areas, has been negotiating with the regime for nearly three years. He stressed that the pressure on the area increased after the agreement in Daraya which led to the evacuation of fighters from that area to Idlib in 2016.
As pressure increased, all military and civilian forces in southern Damascus agreed to form a consensual political committee that would be responsible for managing the negotiating process. Al-Hariri confirmed that the committee members were communicating, according to the formations they are subordinate to, with the regime. Al-Hariri explained that no negotiation plan or political decision is adopted except with the agreement of all the committee members.
Al-Ababil Army and the political committee responsible for negotiations in south Damascus issued two statements announcing that they are not connected to the Zabadani and Madaya - Kafriya and Al-Fu’ah agreement. That agreement was reactivated last week more than one year after it was originally signed by negotiators linked to Iran and Hezbollah militia on the one hand and the Jaish al-Fateh in Idlib on the other hand.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.