Syria: Regime forces shell Daraa after short lull

By Laith al-Junaidi

AT-TURRAH, Jordan (AA) – Regime forces resumed bombardment of the opposition-held Daraa province in southwestern Syria on Saturday, after a short lull.

On Friday, an official Jordanian source said a truce has been hammered out between the warring parties in Daraa province as a first step towards reconciliation.

However, sounds of explosions and shelling were heard on Saturday, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent in the region.

In the last several days, Daraa has been the target of intense air and ground attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime and its allies, who have advanced deep into Darra’s eastern countryside, capturing the towns of Busra al-Harir and Nahtah.

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.