24 August 2021: Pro-Iranian militia and Syrian Arab Army (SAA) units have moved to take Deraa city, in southern Syria from Opposition Armed Groups (OAG) currently entrenched in the city, following a two month siege, during which the majority of the 50,000 citizens have fled the town, as food and medicine became scarce.

Despite taking over the southern province in 2018, with an amnesty for many to leave for the last opposition held territory under Turkish protection, in Idlib, those who remained had continued with sporadic protests, in the cradle of the Syrian 2011 revolution. It is unlikely that the OAGs will be able to hold out for more than four months, with logistics stretched. Indeed, moves are already under for another amnesty offering OAGs and other local citizens the choice of either remaining, or moving to Idlib (further pressurising the province with a new set of IDPs). For now however, a slow war of attrition will keep the pressure on those remaining – with both sides likely to see an increase in casualties due to the urban nature of the conflict.

Source: Reuters