1st convoy of regime opponents leaves Syria’s Daraa

By Ammar al-Ali and Mohamed Misto

DARAA, Syria (AA) – A convoy carrying regime opponents left Syria’s southwestern Daraa province on Sunday toward the northern Idlib province.

The convoy of 15 buses carried 700 evacuees, including 60 children and 30 women, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter in the region.

It remains unclear whether more convoys will follow.

Last month, regime forces launched a wide-ranging military operation -- supported by Russian air power – in Daraa, leading the regime and its allies to establish control over most of the country's southernmost border with Jordan in line with a cease-fire deal between Russia and armed opposition groups.

The fighting has led to a major displacement crisis, with an estimated 350,000 civilians fleeing Daraa in recent days towards areas near the Jordanian border.

Following peace talks held last year in Kazakh capital Astana, Daraa was designated a “de-escalation zone” in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.