DAMASCUS (Al Jazeera) – A three-day ceasefire has taken hold in the besieged Syrian city of Daraa after weeks of intense attacks by army forces on the terrorist-held enclave, local sources told Al Jazeera.
A halt in fighting was announced on Wednesday after Russian generals offered a new plan that appeared to meet some of the militants’ demands to involve the Russian military police in patrolling Daraa al-Balad – a southern district of Daraa city – while allowing for the first time a Syrian army security presence in the stronghold.
Terrorists said they accepted the plan while the army said it would give its response on Wednesday to the deal, which also allows the Syrian and Russian flags to be raised in the militant bastion.
State news agency SANA reported some militants had begun handing over their weapons in Daraa al-Balad on Wednesday. It added several government-run centers are expected to be open across the city for other militants to hand over weaponry and “settle” any pending issues.
Meanwhile, independent Syrian news outlet Step News said those who refuse the terms of the deal would be evacuated to the northwestern Idlib province. It is the last terrorist-held bastion in the country where some three million people live.
Elite Syrian forces stepped up an operation on Tuesday against the foreign-backed terrorist enclave in a southwestern pocket bordering Jordan and the occupied territories, according to residents, military and militant sources.
Fighting escalated earlier this week after the collapse of a Russian plan meant to avert an all-out operation against Daraa al-Balad, the core of the city of Daraa that has defied state authority since the surrounding Daraa province was recaptured by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in 2018.