Syrian regime tightens noose around Daraa, 29 killed

At least 29 people were killed over the past 24 hours in attacks carried out by the Assad regime in Syria’s southern Daraa province.

On Monday evening, the regime and its allies launched a ground offensive -- supported by Russian air power -- following four earlier attempts to storm Daraa’s northeastern town of Busra al-Harir.

Recent days have seen Syrian regime forces and their Iran-backed allies advance to the town’s outskirts, where they have continued to clash with armed opposition groups.

According to local civil-defense sources, at least 29 people have been killed by repeated regime attacks, especially in the towns of Busra al-Harir, Al-Hirak, Al-Sourah and Nahtah.

Busra al-Harir is of particular strategic value, as it represents the only means of accessing Daraa’s eastern countryside.

While airstrikes in support of the operation began about 10 days ago, they have reportedly intensified over the last 48 hours.

An army officer told Zaman al-Wasl, on condition of anonymity, that the regime Air Force has mobilized 60 fighter jets for Daraa offensive.

Six military airports, including Mezzah, Dumayr, Khelkhaleh and al-Seen, are taking part in the assault, he added.

Syrian regime forces had so far made heavy use of artillery and rockets in the current assault, and Russian warplanes that were critical to the recovery of other rebel-held areas had not been deployed until now.

Meanwhile, at least 45,000 people have fled fighting in Daraa, heading towards the border with Jordan, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Jens Laerke, spokesman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that civilians including children had been killed and injured and a hospital had been put out of operation by an air strike, Reuters reported.

Bettina Luescher, spokeswoman of the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP), told the ssame briefing: "We expect the number of displaced people could nearly double as violence escalates."

Zaman Al Wasl TV has interviewed some of the displaced people who start building a new refugee camp in the town of Braiqa near the Occupied Golan Heights. They said regime would not dare to pound them to avoid the Isralei retaliation.

Most of refugees fled an area so-called "Triangle of Death", which connects southern Damascus countryside with Daraa and Quneitra provinces. Rebels say elite regime troops backed by Iranian-backed local militias have been escalating hit and run attacks on their posts in "Triangle of Death" north of Daraa.

Jordan said Sunday it would be unable to host a new wave of Syrian refugees, according too AFP.

Some 650,000 Syrian refugees have registered with the United Nations in Jordan since fleeing their country's seven-year war, which was sparked by peaceful anti-regime protests in 2011.

Amman estimates the actual number is closer to 1.3 million people and says it has spent more than US$10 billion (RM40 billion) hosting them.

In recent weeks regime forces have dropped leaflets over Daraa and Quneitra, warning of impending military operations and calling on the rebels to surrender.(Zaman Al Wasl, Anadolu, Reuters)

Zaman Al Wasl