However, simmering tensions between the parties since 2018 as well as the fact that the Syrian regime is weak and must rely on former rebels to secure the area, meant that control of Deraa was tenuous.
Deraa is the location of the start of the conflict: the Syrian rebellion in 2011, serving as a symbol of resistance. The southern Syria rebellion was always more moderate than extremists that emerged in Idlib and Raqqa. It also never received major foreign financial backing.
Turkey invaded northern Syria and co-opted the rebels there while ISIS destroyed the Syrian rebellion in eastern Syria and a US-backed coalition of mostly Kurdish fighters called the SDF defeated ISIS and took control of eastern Syria. Meanwhile, Russian and Iranian support for Damascus helped it retake swaths of the country by the end of 2018.
The fact that Deraa has once again become embroiled in rebellion this summer shows that the regime has not settled its core existential problems: the roles of Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are still paramount. The regime has laid siege to protesters in Deraa, which is not far from the Jordanian and Israeli borders.
Now, an agreement signed between the parties seems to imply that Russian military police will patrol certain areas, including Deraa. “The last rebel bastion in Syria's southwest under a deal that halted an Iranian-backed government offensive to retake the birthplace of the 2011 popular uprising, military and civilian sources said,” reads a Reuters report.
Who brokered the deal? According to the report, Russian military generals. This came after a bombardment of the rebels “by elite Fourth Division government forces.” READ MORE
