Syrian army bombs rebels in the south

AIR STRIKES COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF AN IMMINENT ASSAULT

The Syrian army and its allies bombarded rebels in the southwestern Dara’a region yesterday, killing at least six people, a war monitor said, in a region widely seen as a potential flashpoint for further escalation in the conflict.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the army had shelled the towns of Kafr Shams and Al Harah, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region.

It was the highest death toll from bombing since a “deescalation zone” was agreed in southwest Syria last year by the government’s ally Russia, along with Jordan and the United States.

President Bashar Al Assad has sworn to take back every inch of Syria and has been preparing an assault on rebels holding areas in the southwest bordering Israel and Jordan.

His military gains in the war have partly depended on support from Iran and allied Shiite militias including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which have provided ground forces.

Israel opposition

Israel wants those forces removed from all of Syria, but is particularly sensitive to their presence near its frontier, and has carried out numerous air strikes against them. It regards Iran as its biggest external threat, and Hezbollah as the biggest threat on its borders.

The United States has also Syrian President Bashar Al Assad attended a mosque in the country’s west yesterday for prayers marking the end of Ramadan, in a rare appearance outside Damascus, images on his social media showed. “President Assad performs the Eid Al Fitr prayer at the Sayyida Khadija mosque in the city of Tartus,” a caption read, referring to the feast marking the close of the holy month.

In one picture, he was seen praying alongside the country’s top Muslim cleric and its Islamic endowments minister.

Another image showed him surrounded by dozens of worshippers who appeared to be offering him Eid greetings.

Al Assad has rarely appeared in public outside Damascus since Syria’s conflict broke out more than six years ago. He led Eid Al Fitr prayers in the central city of Hama last year, his first public appearance in Syria outside the capital since the same festival in 2016. warned the government it would take “firm and appropriate measures” in response to any violations of the southwest de-escalation zone.

Any major battle in the area might risk a serious escalation in Syria’s seven-year war, pitting Israel more directly against Iran and its allies.

On Wednesday, Al Assad said in an interview that his government was still pursing a political solution for the southwest, but would use military force if that failed.

A commander in the military coalition backing Al Assad also said last week that the preparations for an offensive in the area were complete, and that the government had installed new anti-aircraft defences near the Occupied Golan Heights frontier.

However on the Thursday, the United States warned it would “take firm and appropriate measures” in response to Syrian government violations in a so-called de-escalation zone in the country’s southwest, the State Department said.

The State Department said any Syrian government military actions against the southwest de-escalation zone risked broadening the conflict.

An underpinning ceasefire arrangement and the de-escalation deal are intended to save lives and create conditions for the displaced to return home safely, it added.

“The ceasefire must continue to be enforced and respected,” it said.