DARAA, Syria (AP) – The oldest damaged area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, which has so far been occupied by gunmen, appears to be slowly returning to normal on Sunday.
The capture of Daraa al-Balad also marked the victory of President Bashar Assad, whose forces now occupy 10 territories in the aftermath of the Syrian civil war.
The Russian diplomatic agreement that was negotiated went into effect last week in a bid to oust the government and fight a major war in Daraa with terrorists meeting in Daraa al-Balad. But the alliance was filled with war and bombings of the government in areas where terrorists lived, where people also live. When the alliance became operational, many militants were taken by bus to other rebel areas in the north of the country and hundreds of others donated their weapons to offer amnesty.
The Syrian Ministry of Information picked up a group of journalists and took them to Daraa four days after government forces entered Daraa al-Balad, a Syrian refugee camp since 2013. The journalists were not taken to the old Omari mosque, where protesters began a decade ago.
The Daraa region, which borders Jordan and Israel, was identified as the beginning of the Assad invasion that began in March 2011 as part of the Arab Spring invasion and eventually led to war.
At the entrance to the Daraa al-Balad region, Syrian troops occupied the first room of a dilapidated house overlooking the main road. Russian and Syrian flags flowed past the building as Russian police vehicles appeared to be moving.
On Sunday morning, bulldozers cleared sand dunes that blocked roads for months. Men ride motorcycles while other women walk around the area to buy food from a few shops that were open.
One person going to Daraa al-Balad was Ahmed Kiwan, 45, who came to the area to buy scraps from the people. “Now we can work freely,” said Kiwan, from the nearby village of Tafas.
Russia’s proposed arms embargo was designed to end summer’s violence between government forces and militants, as well as to surround a city that has threatened to temporarily disrupt peace along Israel and Jordan.
The protesters blamed the government for the overcrowding, saying the military was forcing people to volunteer. Under the agreement, about 900 fighters have donated their weapons and will live in Daraa al-Balad, according to Syrian freedom fighters.
Mrs. Abu Wael decided to stay with her family in the state despite the war. He said fortunately his house was not destroyed.
“I hope we will be safe and we are back to normal,” he said as he worked to repair his car dealership in the coming days.
Daraa was captured by Syrian government forces in 2018 but rebels remained in some areas. Assad regained control of much of Syria and with the help of Russia and Iran.
The agreement between Russia and 2018 allowed some of the weapons in the region to remain in their strongholds. Government troops continued to monitor the region, but security operations were divided. Tensions were running high, and government forces repeatedly tried to seize control of the areas.