Will she hold out? A truce entered into force in Deraa, Wednesday 1er September, at the end of talks negotiated by Russia, including local representatives and the Syrian army. Fighting had intensified since the end of July in southern Syria. The pro-government forces seemed on the point of launching a vast offensive against the cradle of the uprising against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, in 2011: reinforcements had massed and the bombardments had resumed in the region. On Wednesday, Russian military police were deployed in the old center of Daraa, the beating heart of ex-insurgents in the city.
To the advantage of the regime, the agreement provides in particular for the presence of the Syrian security services in this neighborhood, as well as the expulsion of the former rebels – who have remained there since the surrender of Daraa in 2018 – who refuse to come to terms with Damascus and to hand over their small arms. Among the meager progress obtained by the local committee, the lifting of the siege imposed by the pro-regime forces, since the end of June, in old center of Deraa. This vice led to a “Disastrous situation for the inhabitants, says Diana Semaan, Syria specialist at Amnesty International, with food supplies on the verge of rupture, no access to medical care, no electricity ”.
Evacuation of combatants
The crisis is unprecedented. In view of the previous failures to restore calm, the past agreement remains fragile. The deterioration of the situation in Daraa began at the end of June. Until then, rules negotiated by Russia in 2018 had prevailed: they provided for the return of the army to the region, bordering Jordan, while granting semi-autonomy to the former rebels. They had thus been able to maintain their control over certain areas – such as the old center of Daraa – closed to the security services, in exchange for the abandonment of their heavy weapons and the integration of their men into units sponsored by Russia.
But at the beginning of the summer, the Syrian authorities are determined to put an end to this order. He asks, with the support of Moscow, that the ex-rebels hand over their remaining weapons, in exchange for the withdrawal of pro-regime militias from the region (the departure of pro-Iranian groups has been a recurring demand for demonstrations in Daraa) . The committee of local representatives refuses. The siege begins. A month later, a compromise is found. It doesn’t last. The fourth division of the Syrian army, deployed in the region, bombs the city. Former rebels, rejecting the increased power granted to the security services, attacked regime positions. In retaliation, the bombardments intensified on Daraa and other localities. The violence has left more than 38,000 displaced in two months.
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