After Daraa and Homs…the eyes of the armed factions are on Damascus

What is known as the “Southern Operations Room” is said to be her next destination DamascusNote that armed factions have announced the establishment of this facility in the governorates of Dar, Quneitra and Suwayd in southern Syria.

A report by the US newspaper “New York Times”, citing US officials, also stated that “Damascus could soon be threatened” by armed factions.

As for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he expressed “hope” that the factions would continue their progress in SyriaHe said: “Of course, the target is Damascus: the advance of the opposition continues.”

Homs and Daraa

On Friday, the armed factions said their rapid advance had reached the city hummus Central Syria, which could put it in a position to wrest control of another strategic city from the grip of government forces.

Sources in the factions reported that their forces took control of the southern city of Daraa, after reaching an agreement with the army to ensure the orderly withdrawal of their soldiers.

In the same context, a US-backed coalition led by Kurdish fighters seized control of the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor and the main border crossing with Iraq, thus imposing its control over vast desert areas in eastern Syria in two lightning-fast moves.

The local opposition factions moved to the south, to my governorate Daraa and Suwayda, who are likely to benefit from the withdrawal of government forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “20 civilians were killed, 5 of them from one family,” as a result of rocket attacks by government forces and raids by Syrian and Russian aircraft on several towns near the city of Homs. , including Talbiseh.

The United States on Friday urged its citizens to leave the country, saying “the security situation in Syria remains volatile and unpredictable.”

Russia, the main support of the Syrian government, also called on its citizens to leave Syria, warning of a “difficult military and political situation” in the country.

A tripartite meeting was held in Baghdad with the participation of foreign ministers Iran Abbas Aragji, Iraq Fuad Hussein and Syria Bassam Al-Sabah, to discuss the development of the situation in Syria.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the ministers considered that “the threat to the security of Syria represents a general danger to the stability of the region”, stressing that “there is no choice but coordination, cooperation and diplomatic consultations in order to eliminate the risks of escalation”.

International positions

• over Erdogan He expressed hope that Syrian factions would continue their advances against government forces, but expressed concern about what he called “terrorist organizations” among the factions.
• Jordan announced the closure of the Jaber border crossing, which is the only port for people to cross and trade with Syria.
• A senior United Nations official has warned that up to 1.5 million people in Syria will be forced to flee as fighting escalates as the opposition continues its lightning assault on government forces.
• White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said the United States is closely monitoring developments in Syria.
• A source in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken, Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the situation in Syria, and Fidan reportedly said that Damascus must enter into a dialogue with the opposition and start political process.
• The Russian agency “TASS” quoted the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, as saying that the ministers of foreign affairs Russia Turkey and Iran will discuss Syria on Saturday in Qatar.
• Iraq’s ruling parties and armed factions are studying the “pros and cons” of armed intervention in Syria, as they see the factions’ advances as a serious threat, with their control of two cities and their push toward a third.
• Two senior Lebanese security sources told Reuters that on Thursday evening, Lebanon’s Hezbollah sent a small number of “surveillance forces” from Lebanon to Syria to prevent the factions from taking control of the strategically important city of Homs.