Aid enters towns retaken by gov't army in Syria's Daraa

Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-04 00:21:21|Editor: yan
Video PlayerClose

DAMASCUS, July 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 truckloads of aid on Tuesday entered the towns recently taken by the government forces through reconciliation deals in Syria's southern province of Daraa, state TV reported.

The truckloads of aid include food and medical items as well as a mobile clinic, fuel and wheat provided for the towns and villages that have witnessed reconciliation between the Syrian army and the militant groups.

The Syrian state media recently said several towns and villages agreed to embark on a reconciliation deal with the Syrian government forces in Daraa, where the Syrian army launched a military campaign nearly two weeks ago.

The reconciliation deals, backed by Russia, demand the rebels lay down their weapons as a prelude to the entry of the Syrian government institutions.

A day earlier, the state media said the rebels in Busra al-Sham town, one of the several towns that accepted the reconciliation deal, started handing over their heavy weapons to the Syrian army.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group said some rebel groups in Daraa accepted the reconciliation deal, while others, including al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and rebels allied with the Islamic State (IS), rejected it.

Earlier in the day, the Observatory said calm prevails Daraa except for the town of Tafas in the eastern countryside of the province, where battles are continuing between the government army and the rebels who pledged alliance with the IS.

As the birthplace of the Syrian war that erupted in 2011, Daraa is both symbolically and militarily significant for the Syrian army because the rebels have been using the Jordanian border to bring in arms and fighters throughout the Syrian war.

The Observatory said on Monday that the number of civilians displaced as a result of the flaring situation in Daraa had risen to 300,000.

It said 58 percent of Daraa has become under the government control through battles and reconciliations, which serve as a pardon for those who hand over their weapons and agree to abandon insurgency.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011105521372993551