AMMAN/BEIRUT: Government air and artillery bombardments hit rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Daraa, on the border with Jordan, on Tuesday after a two-day cease-fire expired, witnesses and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Syrian military could not be reached for comment on the renewed action, which took place as US and Russian officials were holding held talks on creating a “de-escalation zone” in southwestern Syria that would include Daraa.
A witness and two insurgents in Daraa said the army and its allies had resumed air and artillery bombardments in the city and the narrow strip of countryside separating it from the border.
If the army takes rebel-held parts of Daraa and the few kilometers (miles) between it and the border, it would split the insurgent areas of southeast Syria in half.
At least six raids took place in Gharz in east Daraa and in the old quarter of the city, where the army resumed efforts to break rebel lines, the rebels said.
The witness said that barrel bombs, artillery shells and rockets were used in the bombardment. Clashes took place near a military base southwest of the city near the border with Jordan, the witness added.
US and Russian officials agreed a cease-fire, which ended on Monday, during talks in Amman aimed at strengthening goodwill before more detailed negotiations on setting up the “de-escalation zone,” diplomats in Jordan said.
On Saturday the Syrian army said it would suspend combat operations in Daraa for 48 hours in order to support “reconciliation efforts.”
Rebels in the city and other residents have said this month that the army’s bombardment of Daraa has intensified and insurgents said the government had brought more troops to the city.
Syrian President Bashar Assad is backed in the six-year-old war by Russia, Iran and Shiite militias while some of the rebels seeking to oust him are supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies.
Air strikes pound southwest Syrian city of Daraa
Air strikes pound southwest Syrian city of Daraa
HRW says Israel’s Lebanon evacuation risks violating laws of war
- “Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags,” said Kaiss
- “How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately?”
BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli military’s call for residents of vast areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate raised “serious risks of violations of the laws of war.”
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel with Israel conducting air strikes across the country and its troops pushing into border towns.
On Thursday, Israel renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometers (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action.
“Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately? And how will their safety be guaranteed as they leave?” he said in a statement from the rights group.
HRW said “the sweeping nature” of Israel’s call raised “concerns that their purpose is not to protect civilians,” adding that the area was home to hundreds of thousands of people.
The evacuation call “raises serious risks of violations of the laws of war,” it added.
Lebanese authorities said dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced from their homes since Monday.
