Government regains control of three southern provinces: Moscow

pulse

August 2, 2018 1:47 PM

The Moscow-supported Damascus regime "entirely retook control of the border between Syria and Jordan", Rudskoy said.

The Russian army on Thursday said the Syrian government had recaptured three of the countrys southern provinces from rebels and jihadists, and regained control of the border zone with Jordan.

"Syrian forces, supported by Russian aviation, liquidated (Islamic State) and former al-Nusra groups and retook control of Sweida, Daraa and Quneitra," Russian army general Sergei Rudskoy said at a briefing in Moscow.

He praised the "unique operation" that allowed Syrian forces to retake "3,332 square kilometres" of territory from jihadist and rebel groups.

He added that "conditions have been created for the resumption of the activities of UN peacekeeping forces in the Golan Heights" near the border with Israel.

Russia, which intervened military in Syria on the side of Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2015, will deploy "eight military police observation posts" in order "to prevent possible provocations."

More than seven years since the conflict began, regime forces have managed to retake entire regions from rebels and jihadists and now control nearly two-thirds of the country.

Syrian troops are supported military by their Russian and Iranian allies, as well as by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Iraqi, Iranian and Afghan militiamen.

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