Information about the arrival of about 400 members of Russian separation forces to the south of Syria to carry of the first step after the ceasefire which continues in its 9th day
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received reliable information from crossed sources about the arrival of about 400 member of the Russian forces to the northern countryside of Daraa, in conjunction with the continuation of the Syrian south truce for the 9th consecutive day, the information confirmed that the Russian forces were positioned in the northern countryside of Daraa al-Muthbeen village and its vicinity, in preparations to distributing them as separating forces between the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, and, the rebel and Islamic factions in the provinces of Daraa, Al-Suwaidaa and Quneitra, where the Russian-Jordanian-American agreement has been carried out since 12 pm on the 9th of July 2017.
Reliable sources confirmed to the SOHR that one of the items of the agreement provides for the deployment of Russian military police forces to the cease-fire zones in the three provinces included in the agreement to monitor the ceasefire and the truce implementation. Meanwhile, the factions operating in Al-Suwaidaa desert, which intersects with the southeastern part of Rif Dimashq, announced that they have not been informed by any regional or international entity about the ceasefire in southern Syria. The SOHR also obtained information from reliable sources to the effect that the agreement provides for the withdrawal of the regime forces and their allied militiamen and the rebel and Islamic factions from contact lines in all areas, the deployment of the regime’s internal security forces in these lines whereas the rebel and Islamic factions participating in the agreement will be assigned the task of protecting all public and private establishments. In addition, it also stipulates the departure of all those unwilling to participate in the agreement, the full withdrawal of the regime’s allied militiamen – of non-Syrian nationalities, preparation of the infrastructure necessary for the return of refugees from Jordan successively, holding municipal elections and granting municipalities broad powers, and finally the delivery of humanitarian aid to the areas that abide by the ceasefire. The SOHR published on the 17th of June 2017 that a Russian-American-Jordanian truce was put into effect in Daraa Province and was extended till the 20th of June but came to an end as a result of the renewed aerial and artillery shelling by the regime forces and their allied militiamen, helicopters and warplanes.
It should be noted that the SOHR have not documented the death of any civilians or rebel fighters during the period of the truce since it came into effect on the 9th of July 2017 till the 18th of July, as a result of battles between the regime forces and their allied militiamen on one hand and the rebel and Islamic factions on the other. On the other hand, the SOHR had documented in the eight days that preceded the truce the death of 18 civilians, including 7 children below the age of 18 and 6 female citizens above 18 in shelling by the regime forces and airstrikes by warplanes in the southern Syria in addition to two female citizens and a child who were killed as a result of the dropping of shells on regime-controlled areas.