Syrian military takes towns from rebels

DAMASCUS — The Syrian military operation in the southern province of Daraa continued on Saturday amid ongoing reconciliation efforts, and more towns returned under the government control, local media said.

The Syrian army captured the town of Western Ghariyeh in the northeastern countryside of Daraa on Saturday, following battles with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, according to state news agency SANA.

The army also shelled areas in the vicinity of the al-Jumruk town, where Nusra Front militants are located.

The plains surrounding al-Jumruk are important as they constitute key supply routes to the rebels in al-Balad area inside Daraa from the eastern countryside of Daraa province and the Jordanian border, according to SANA.

In the northeastern countryside of Daraa, the Syrian army continued to target the Nusra Front in the towns of Karak and Msaifra.

Meanwhile, a military source said that Syrian forces captured several towns in the northern countryside of Daraa and entered four towns Saturday after the militants accepted to surrender through a reconciliation deal.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the rebels in the city of Busra al-Sham in Daraa accepted the entry of the Syrian army into the city and hoisted the official Syrian flag on the citadel of Busra al-Sham.

The Syrian army started the operation against the rebels in Daraa 11 days ago, with the aim of entirely capturing the rebel-held areas due to the strategic location of Daraa near Jordan.

The state media said the military operations are going in tandem with the reconciliation efforts, which explains the situation where several towns accepted the entry of the Syrian army without battles.

However, the rebels who reject the reconciliation offer are still fighting back, as SANA said a girl was killed and many more children and women were wounded on Saturday when mortar shells slammed government-controlled areas in Daraa.

Meanwhile, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 10 people were killed by shelling on the rebel-held town of Sahwa east of Daraa on Saturday. It added that a total of 126 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the military campaign in Daraa.

The observatory said that 120,000 people fled their homes in the eastern countryside of Daraa as a result of the military operations.