Syrian opposition resists regime advance on Daraa

By Ammar al-Ali and Mohamed Misto

DARAA, Syria (AA) - For the tenth day in a row, Syrian armed opposition groups have resisted attempts by the Assad regime and allied militias to advance on Daraa’s northern countryside.

Clashes between the two sides remain ongoing on the outskirts of Daraa’s Al-Waredat village.

Located on the eastern side of the highway linking capital Damascus to Jordanian capital Amman, the village was captured earlier by regime forces.

According to Ali Abu al-Gharib, a commander of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA), regime forces and allied militias have continued to violate a one-month-old ceasefire.

The ceasefire has not entirely gone into effect in Daraa due to ongoing military operations in the province’s north and the regime’s deployment of troops in the city’s outskirts, Abu al-Gharib said.

The regime, he added, had also recently ratcheted up its ongoing siege of the town of Mahajjah in Daraa’s northern countryside.

According to the FSA commander, hundreds of local residents have been displaced from several villages in the area, including Al-Najeeh, Jenin, Qerata and Al-Zabayer.