Hezbollah artillery strike kills five civilians in Daraa

The Lebanese Hezbollah militia backed by Iranian forces have stepped up its offensive on the southern Daraa province, killing 5 civilians, local sources said Friday.

The artillery fire by Bashar al-Assad allies targeted the northern countryside of Daraa in the first day of Eid al-Fitr, an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan.

The attack seemed to defy a warning by the US on Thursday where the State Department stressed it would “take firm and appropriate measures” in response to Syrian regime violations in a designated de-escalation zone in Daraa and Quneitra.

After seven years of conflict, the southwest of Syria, bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is one of the parts of the country still outside the state’s control.

Bashar Assad’s forces have recovered swathes of territory from rebels with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, and he has repeatedly pledged to take back “every inch.”

Assad said on Wednesday his government was still pursuing a political solution for Syria’s rebel-held southwest, but would use military force if the effort failed.

Since last year, a “de-escalation” deal brokered by Jordan, Russia and the United States has contained fighting in the southwest.

The state department said any Syrian government military actions against that zone risked broadening the conflict.

“We affirm again that the United States will take firm and appropriate measures in response to Syrian government violations in this area,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

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.

Source: Zaman Al Wasl