BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:40 P.M.) – The Daraa Governorate has witnessed a wave of violence to start the new year, amid the mobilization of Syrian Arab Army (SAA) troops to several areas across this region of southern Syria.
According to the latest reports from the Daraa Governorate, Syrian Arab Army (SAA) troops are on high alert after a string of coordinated attacks launched by sleeper cells belonging to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and their allies.
These events in Daraa followed the assassination of a town’s governor by a group of assailants, believed to reconciled rebels from the Free Syrian Army.
This latest violence has prompted the Russian Armed Forces to get involved in southern Syria, as they attempt to negotiate a peace agreement between the reconciled rebels and Syrian Arab Army.
However, all attempts to ease the tensions in southern Syria have failed thus far, with all parties refusing to yield to the demands of the other.
Among the demands from the Syrian government is the expulsion of FSA commanders accused of plotting attacks. According to a report from Daraa, the government is seeking to transport these commanders to the Idlib Governorate, similar to the previous arrangement made with the FSA and Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) fighters in the Summer of 2018.
Governor of southern Syria town assassinated by unknown assailants
Mamdouh Mafalani was heading to work in the eastern Daraa countryside when he was assassinated, the state news agency SANA cited a police source as saying.
The governor was admitted to the Izraa Hospital but succumbed to his wounds, the hospital’s director, Ahmad Ghazali, reportedly said.
Since 2011, Syria has been experiencing a period of instability, with the government of Bashar Assad battling a number of opposition groups and terrorist organisations.
At the moment, the country’s authorities are primarily focused on the political settlement of the continuous crisis as well as the reconstruction of Syria and the return of refugees.
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