The operation to free the south-west provinces of Syria has finished almost without fighting. At the contested Golan Heights, the armed opposition signed a treaty with the government forces and is now helping the Syrian police to clear the demilitarized zone. The country is getting closer to a complete cease-fire.
Tomorrow, the delegates of the guarantor parties of the Astana Process will meet in Sochi — Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Syrian government and opposition, as well as the observers from third states, and the special envoy of the UN, de Mistura. During the two-day meeting, they'll discuss the acceleration of the political process and humanitarian issues that have accumulated during the war.
Currently, almost seven million Syrian refugees reside in 45 different countries. According to the Russian diplomats, about a million and a half are ready to return home including the 200,000 refugees residing in the European Union. Over the first week of the work of the Russian Center for Reception and Accommodation, more than 3000 people have returned to Syria, mostly from Lebanon and Jordan. In order to accelerate the restoration process, Moscow began working on the creation of a broad international humanitarian coalition.
And here are the first results: French supplies delivered by our military to East Ghouta provided the hospitals with required equipment and medications.
This week, the issue was addressed in a series of talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov visited Israel, France, and Germany agitating the European press. The details of their meetings with Netanyahu, Merkel, and Macron are classified. We only know that they discussed the humanitarian situation in Syria and its complex relations with Israel. The American agency Foreign Policy stresses that it's Russia that, I quote "holds the key to peace between Jerusalem and Damascus" because it's the only country that's engaged in dialogue with both sides.
Both Syria and Israel are interested in restoring peace at the Golan Heights. It's one of the main initiatives Vladimir Putin proposed at his meeting with Trump in Helsinki. The fact that the Syrian police are back at the red line makes it possible.
Our military correspondent Evgeny Poddubny accompanied the advance parties. He's the only Russian journalist working in that region.
The artillery of the 4th Division is firing missiles at the Golan Heights. The MRLS system was produced by the Tank Division that's considered elite here. The commander of the unit is the president's brother. The missiles destroy the concrete forts of the ISIL terrorists at the Israeli and Jordan borders. It's the last active war-zone in the Daraa Province. The fighters pressed against the borders of the adjacent countries. The operation is carried out by the troops of General Suheil the 4th Tank Division, the Guard, and the former militants of the so-called Free Syrian Army which have never associated with the radical terrorist ideology. Previously, it was hard to imagine: an officer of the government forces fighting alongside a former militant — the commander of the assault team.
“Against such evil as ISIL, we had to join our efforts long ago to bring peace to our land and let our people return home.”
“In fact, all ISIL terrorists are suicide bombers. All of them have explosive vests. They also use car bombs, so it's hard to advance.”
The opportunity was brought by the Russian military. The officers of the Reconciliation Center persuaded the militants to side with the government forces. Now, they're fighting at the frontline to earn a right to return to their peaceful lives. They're fighting alongside the 4th Tank Division and doing it properly. They've already freed several villages.
There are the last villages controlled by the so-called Islamic State. The government forces have to liberate the 5-mile area separating them from the Bravo line to complete the liberation of the south-west of the Syrian Arab Republic.
The terrorists are fighting fiercely actively using suicide bombers. Here are the bodies of the neutralized radicals, each had a personal explosive west. After the attacks in the Swaida Province that resulted in more than 200 deaths the ISIL terrorists captured ten hostages, all women. Using civilians as human shields is a standard terrorist strategy.
More and more people are returning to the villages to the west of Daraa. This village was liberated about four days ago. It's close to the active war-zone, but people are already coming home. Many people haven't been here for two years. Jamal's driving his old truck rushing to take his family home.
Jamal Akhmed:
—We're tired of staying with relatives for 1,5 years.
—Aren't you afraid to come back? The terrorists are still close.
—Thank God, we're not afraid. I think it'll be fine.
—Was your house badly damaged?
—It was damaged, but not critically. We'll rebuild it.
The refugees are returning to the Quneitra Province — another Syrian region taken over by the official Damascus without a single shot. Same as it was in Daraa, the Russian military managed to persuade the moderate militants of the Free Army to lay down their arms and use the amnesty to return to their peaceful lives. The liberation of Quneitra is not just a Syrian success: the local processes can affect the relations with Israel.
The red line passage — the Golan Heights occupied by Israel. The militants of the so-called Free Syrian Army are handing over this territory to the Syrian police forces. Soon, the area will be safe and the peacekeepers can return here once again.
The Syrian police officers are returning to the abandoned checkpoint in Quneitra where the UN peacekeepers were stationed previously. They had been evacuated after the attacks of the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.
Abu Iliaz, who used to fight for the Free Syrian Army, says: "That was something the White Helmets feared the most." Not so long ago, they were evacuated from Syria with the help of the Israeli Army.
Abu Iliaz: “I know that people joined the White Helmets for money. They paid well. As soon as they heard that the Syrian Army is coming, they fled. They would have to answer for their empty talk about chemicals and other stuff.”
After the terrorists are neutralized in the south-west, it becomes clear that the most efficient way of resolving the Syrian crisis is negotiating. The positions of the official Damascus will become considerably stronger on the margins of various meetings and non-public discussions.
