DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Hundreds of terrorists have handed over their weapons to the Syrian army in the town of Tafas in southwestern Dara’a province under a reconciliation agreement with the government.
Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported on Saturday that the militants laid down their homemade projectiles and anti-tank missiles as well as machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition.
Units of the Syrian army entered Tafas on Saturday afternoon for the first time in eight years, under the reconciliation agreement that would see militants give up their weapons and return to normal life.
Syria’s official SANA news agency said the process to settle the status of gunmen, wanted individuals and military deserters had also begun in Tafas as part of the government’s efforts to restore security and stability.
Army units, it said, prepared to redeploy in different parts of Tafas in a bid to restore services and repair damage to the town.
Hamzeh Hammam, head of the reconciliation committee in Dara’a, told Sputnik that a total of 447 people had their status settled, 371 of whom were armed wanted men and 76 were draft dodgers.
After handing over their weapons, the gunmen pledge not to do anything that will spark chaos and terrorism in Syria. In exchange, they receive documents and have their names removed from a security list.

Power Restored After Attack

Meanwhile, Syria has repaired and restored electricity supply in Damascus after a brief but extensive outage caused by an attack claimed by the Daesh terrorist group.
The repairs were completed and gas supply fully restored to the Deir Ali power station, the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources said in a Saturday night statement, less than a day after the act of sabotage.
Several photos circulating online showed a big crater, and repair crews working to fix the crippled pipe.
The Daesh terrorist group claimed the attack on the natural gas pipeline which resulted in major power outages.
In a statement, Daesh said that its terrorists were able to “plant and detonate explosives on the gas pipeline feeding the Tishreen and Deir Ali plants”.
The Deir Ali station provides power for much of Damascus and the surrounding area.
Ghassan al-Zamel, the minister of electricity, said on Saturday that the plant generated half of Syria’s power needs, according to the official SANA news agency.
Zamel added that the outage in Deir Ali station affected several other stations and led to blackouts in Damascus as well as its outskirts before power was later restored.
Daesh has already been driven out of all its urban bastions both in Iraq and Syria, but the group’s remnants carry out sporadic terror attacks in both Arab countries.
Syria’s gas and oil infrastructure have been among the targets of foreign-backed militants and terrorist outfits fighting the government in Damascus since 2011.