Syrian Military Extending Operation in Southwest
BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Syrian government helicopters dropped bombs on the city of Deraa on Monday extending an assault in southwest Syria, a terrorist and a war monitor said.
The Syrian helicopters also dropped leaflets saying the army was coming and urging people to "kick out the terrorists as your brothers did in eastern Ghouta”, the sources said.
The region is politically sensitive because of its location near the Israeli-occupied territories and Jordan and the existence there of a "de-escalation” deal agreed between the U.S., Jordan and Syrian government ally Russia.
Washington has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies that violations of the deal would prompt a response, but terrorists said it had also told them not to expect any American military support.
In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted by RIA news agency as saying Russian officials hope to discuss southwest Syria with U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton soon, and separately with Jordan.
Assad has turned to the southwest after driving terrorists from their last besieged enclaves in western Syria, including eastern Ghouta near Damascus, earlier this year.
It is one of two major areas still held by the terrorists, along with Idlib province on the border with Turkey in the northwest. Deraa, the southwest’s largest city, was an early center of the uprising against Assad in 2011 and has been split into terrorist and government sectors for years.
Recent fighting has focused on the town of Busr al-Harir, half way along a narrow terrorist center stretching into government areas northeast of Deraa. If taken, it would split that salient in half, putting the northern part under siege.
The pro-government al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday that the army had advanced into Busr al-Harir.
The war monitor, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported fierce fighting inside the town on Monday between the army, along with allied fighters, and terrorist factions.
In other reports, Russian news agencies cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Monday that the Syrian army, supported by the Russian Air Force, has repelled a terrorist attack in the southern "de-escalation zone,” killing around 70 terrorists.
The Syrian helicopters also dropped leaflets saying the army was coming and urging people to "kick out the terrorists as your brothers did in eastern Ghouta”, the sources said.
The region is politically sensitive because of its location near the Israeli-occupied territories and Jordan and the existence there of a "de-escalation” deal agreed between the U.S., Jordan and Syrian government ally Russia.
Washington has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies that violations of the deal would prompt a response, but terrorists said it had also told them not to expect any American military support.
In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted by RIA news agency as saying Russian officials hope to discuss southwest Syria with U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton soon, and separately with Jordan.
Assad has turned to the southwest after driving terrorists from their last besieged enclaves in western Syria, including eastern Ghouta near Damascus, earlier this year.
It is one of two major areas still held by the terrorists, along with Idlib province on the border with Turkey in the northwest. Deraa, the southwest’s largest city, was an early center of the uprising against Assad in 2011 and has been split into terrorist and government sectors for years.
Recent fighting has focused on the town of Busr al-Harir, half way along a narrow terrorist center stretching into government areas northeast of Deraa. If taken, it would split that salient in half, putting the northern part under siege.
The pro-government al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday that the army had advanced into Busr al-Harir.
The war monitor, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported fierce fighting inside the town on Monday between the army, along with allied fighters, and terrorist factions.
In other reports, Russian news agencies cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Monday that the Syrian army, supported by the Russian Air Force, has repelled a terrorist attack in the southern "de-escalation zone,” killing around 70 terrorists.