{"id":18348,"date":"2013-03-29T21:50:15","date_gmt":"2013-03-30T01:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=18348"},"modified":"2013-04-13T22:08:27","modified_gmt":"2013-04-14T02:08:27","slug":"deraa-is-falling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/deraa-is-falling\/","title":{"rendered":"Dera\u2019a is Falling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MatthewDera\u2019a is Falling
\n<\/strong> by Matthew Barber for Syria Comment<\/em>
\nMarch 29, 2013<\/p>\n

According to an article published yesterday by al-Quds (???? ????: ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????<\/a>), Syrian MP Waleed Zoubi has asserted during a session of parliament that large areas within the muhafiza<\/i> (governorate) of Dera’a have fallen under the control of rebels, and that the presence of regime forces is dwindling. His remarks indicate that Dera\u2019a is in the process of falling, and served as a wake-up call to the Syrian parliament about the shift of control in that region. Zoubi countered reports that the highway (which runs from Damascus to the Jordanian border, through Dera\u2019a) is still secured by the Syrian military, declaring that much of it is under the control of armed militants, who also control much of the Syrian-Jordanian border, including near the Golan. He also said that a number of military positions in the muhafiza<\/em> have been emptied of regime forces for “unknown strategic reasons.”<\/p>\n

\"\"

Waleed Zoubi – Captured image from al-Quds<\/p><\/div>\n

After the “retreat” that Zoubi alludes to, he said that these positions have been replaced with forces of Jabhat al-Nusra. Though we already knew that Syria near the Golan was under rebel control, Zoubi stated before the parliament that the highway is completely under rebel control from Kherbet Ghazalah to Jordan. He said that the loss of the highway involved the fall of the most important military site in Dera\u2019a (which he wouldn\u2019t name, knowing that the session was being broadcast on live TV), leaving only the 61st<\/sup> Brigade to provide \u201cwestern cover\u201d\u2014it\u2019s unclear whether he means the entirety of the western muhafiza<\/i>, or the western highway, since two parallel highways run from Damascus to Jordan through the muhafiza<\/i> of Dera\u2019a, Kherbet Ghazalah being located on the eastern highway<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, today rebels have announced that they have taken Dael, a town north of the city of Dera\u2019a on the western highway<\/b>. This means that both highways are likely now under rebel control<\/strong>, which would effectively cut Damascus off from the city of Dera\u2019a and the most important stretch of the Jordanian border. Rebels claim that the three checkpoints that secure the center of the town of Dael and its northern and southern entrances have been overrun by militias.<\/p>\n

The liwa<\/em> that Zoubi refrained from mentioning in the parliament’s televised session was the 38th Brigade which was besieged for 15 days by Jabhat al-Nusra and FSA forces, finally being taken by the rebels 6 days ago. This brigade was located in Saida.<\/p>\n

\"Daraa<\/a><\/p>\n

On the map image, the blue and red indicate the western (old) highway and eastern (new) highway, respectively. Kherbet Ghazalah is at the top right, to the east of Dael. Traveling down the eastern highway brings one to Saida, the (former) location of the 38th Brigade (green star) and the point one must turn west to reach the city of Dera’a. MP Zoubi’s concern regarding the fall of Saida to rebel control is easy to understand, since the site can allow or block access to nearby Dera’a from the primary highway. As of today, however, it seems that both of these thoroughfares are in opposition hands. See this stream<\/a>\u00a0of latest videos \u00a0from Dael, and this stream<\/a>\u00a0of videos from Kherbet Ghazala.<\/em><\/p>\n

The end of the following video shows a tank in the possession of al-Nusra being shelled by regime forces in the vicinity of the 38th Brigade.<\/em>
\n