An uneasy calm held in the capital city of Syria’s southwestern governorate of Daraa, also named Daraa, Sunday after its opposition-held half returned to state control under a deal brokered by Moscow, AFP journalists on a government-organized tour said.
Correspondents toured the Al-Arbaeen and Dowar Al-Masry areas, where two out of a total of nine Syrian military posts were established.
Inside Daraa on Sunday, AFP correspondents saw bulldozers clearing away rubble between battle-scarred buildings.
“Nine checkpoints have been set up on the edges of and inside Daraa,” a military source who requested anonymity told AFP.
“The process is ongoing to settle the status of those fighters who wish to do so after handing over their weapon,” the source said.
“There is cautious calm and we are waiting for the reconciliation steps to be completed,” the source added, expressing the hope that everyone would accept the deal.
“The state would prefer not to have to resort to a military solution,” they affirmed.
This coincides with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reporting that the regime’s 4th Armored Division is withdrawing its reinforcements from Daraa’s vicinity.
The withdrawal aligns with the Russian-brokered deal, which was approved by local Daraa committees last week.
According to sources, the military reinforcements have gathered in Daraa al-Mahatah, while civilians have continued to return to their houses in Daraa via al-Sarai checkpoint.
State news agency SANA reported on Wednesday that army units had entered Daraa and raised the national flag there while setting up posts and combing the area.
Their entry followed the implementation of a final agreement reached early in September which included Russian and Syrian military police patrolling the city and establishing checkpoints. It also covered settling the status of hundreds of local opposition fighters.
