Syrian Government Forces Enter Daraa City

On Thursday, July 21, the Syrian army entered Daraa city and raised the Syrian flag in this location, which was the starting point of anti-government protests. Seven years ago, protests erupted in this city after the arrest of teenagers who had written slogans against the Assad regime on a wall, quickly spreading throughout the country. After entering Daraa, government forces installed the Syrian flag in the main square of the city. The presence of these forces follows an agreement between Syrian and Russian forces with the rebels for the handover of heavy and medium weapons and their withdrawal from the city. After three weeks of bombing in Daraa province, centered around Daraa city, a ceasefire was established last week between the coalition of Bashar al-Assad's allies and the rebels. Prior to this, the northern part of Daraa was under government control, while the southern part, including the Balad area, was held by the rebels. France Press has also reported that Russian military police, along with government forces and journalists, raised the Syrian flag over the main square of the city (in front of the post office). However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in London, states that the raising of the Syrian flag is merely 'symbolic' and that the rebels have not yet handed over their heavy and medium weapons. The Observatory, which is close to the opposition, claims that rebels are still present in Daraa. According to Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, under the agreement, rebels who wish to clarify their status with the government can remain in Daraa after handing over their heavy weapons and can keep their light weapons. Those who are unwilling to negotiate with the government will head north to Syria. Since Russia's entry into the Syrian civil war in September 2015, many areas of the country have been retaken from the rebels following this pattern. These agreements come after sieges and extensive airstrikes on rebel positions. The ceasefire agreement with the rebels in Daraa province does not include ISIS-affiliated forces. ISIS controls a small area adjacent to the Golan Heights occupied by Israel and Jordan. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as of June 19, government forces have retaken nearly 80% of Daraa province from the rebels, during which over 160 civilians were killed. Syrian government forces are trying to retake the western part of Daraa province, which borders the occupied Golan. Israel stated that on Wednesday evening, after an unarmed drone entered its territory, it fired three missiles at the positions of government forces. In recent weeks, Israel has expressed concern over the presence of Iranian forces near its borders and has reportedly targeted Iranian positions in Syria several times. In this context, Netanyahu met with Putin, asking him to request Iran to leave Syria. Velayati stated that Putin promised a $50 billion investment in Iran. Trump remarked that the Islamic Republic is now behaving with more respect towards the U.S. Israeli fighter jets attacked Syrian army positions in Quneitra.