In the last three days, there have been reports of clashes in southern Syria around the town of Tafas. Reports say that machine gun fire has been used and that the Syrian regime is confronting armed locals.
The clashes are one of many since the Syrian regime returned to this area in 2018. There are many factions here, some of them linked to former Syrian rebels, and the complexity of the area lends itself to friction between the regime and locals. In addition, Iranian-backed groups seek to use southern Syria for drug smuggling to Jordan and the Gulf and also to threaten Israel. A recent meeting between Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad and Jordan’s foreign minister focused on the drug trade.
The instability leads to the killing of civilians. Locals told various media that on July 4 there was fighting near Tafas and in the western countryside of Dara’a. The regime has brought in reinforcements. One report claimed the regime was seeking to put more military checkpoints around agricultural land.
SYRIAN PRESIDENT Bashar Assad attends the Arab League summit in Jeddah last month. (credit: SAUDI PRESS AGENCY/REUTERS)What is to come
It remains to be seen if the fighting around Tafas will increase. Because of the sensitive nature of this region, near the Jordanian border and not far from the Golan, any kind of instability can result in tensions with Jordan and also tensions with Israel. In the past groups like Hezbollah have sought to exploit this area to threaten Israel.
Comments are closed.