Assad regime mulling fresh ops in southern Syria: Opposition

DARAA, Syria / ISTANBUL, Turkey

The Assad regime is reportedly planning to carry out fresh operations against opposition forces in southern Syria.

Opposition sources told Anadolu Agency that regime forces hoped to assert control over the Nassib border crossing with Jordan, which was captured by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in 2015.

Meanwhile, Daraa remains divided by regime forces, which hold the northern part of the city, and the FSA, which still controls the southern part.

The city’s roughly 200,000 inhabitants risk possible displacement, as many would flee to neighboring Jordan if the regime carries out a major offensive.

According to UN figures, Jordan currently hosts roughly 660,000 Syrian refugees.

On Tuesday, Iran-backed forces -- including Hezbollah fighters -- partially withdrew from Daraa’s Etman and Khirbet Ghazaleh districts near the highway linking Damascus to Jordanian capital Amman.

Over the course of the last week, three separate Hezbollah concentrations have left the area, with the last withdrawal having taken place at dawn Tuesday.

Regime forces have been quick to fill the vacuum, especially in the Sajna and Al-Manshiyya districts.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a vicious conflict that began in early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.