(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian rebels are on alert as the regime forces backed by Hezbollah and Iranian militias have been mobilizing troops to launch major offensive in southern Syria despite warning from Washington, local sources said.
The regime forces seek to split up the rebel-held areas in Daraa and Quneitra provinces along the Jordanian border and the Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights.
Field sources said Bashar al-Assad's forces plan to seize the strategic hilltop of al-Harra in he western countryside as well to isolate rebels in al-Lajat region that lies on the border with Jordan.
Bashar Assad's forces have recovered swathes of territory from rebels with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, and he has repeatedly pledged to take back "every inch, according to Reuters"
Assad said on Wednesday his regime was still pursuing a political solution for Syria's rebel-held southwest, but would use military force if the effort failed.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted Monday between Hezbollah militia and rebels in Quneitra.
Hezbollah militants have intensified their assault in the southwest region despite a clear warning by the US to take firm and appropriate measures in response to violations in a designated de-escalation zone in southwestern Syria.
Activists have reported casualties from Hezbollah in the clashes, which took place in the village of Um Batneh south of Quneitra city.
After seven years of conflict, the southwest of Syria, bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is one of the parts of the country still outside the regime's control.
Hezbollah's artillery fire killed 5 civilians on Friday in Daraa during Eid al-Fitr, an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan.
Since last year, a "de-escalation" deal brokered by Jordan, Russia and the United States has contained fighting in the southwest.
Zaman Al Wasl
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