Tensions Rising in Quneitra, Near the Golan Heights

Syria’s Quneitra province, on the border with Israel, has seen an increase in military activity over the past few days.

On Tuesday, Iranian media reported that Lebanese Hezbollah and Syrian Army forces were preparing an operation near the Syrian-Israeli border. “The Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters have been working on a joint plan to end militancy in southern Syria, particularly near the Golan Heights,” a military official told Iran’s state-run media Fars News.

The official added that Hezbollah has deployed a “large number” of forces to the Quneitra passage, which connects Syria to the contested Golan region.

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said their warplanes targeted “canons of the Syrian regime” in the Golan Heights, which Israel controls, in retaliation for errant mortar fire landing there recently, according to Reuters.

Israel has a long history of conflict with Hezbollah, whose fighters are in Syria in support of Assad’s government.

Opposition Fighter Evacuation Deal Reached in Mouadamiya

Fighters in Mouadamiya will be evacuated from the suburban Damascene town following a deal between the Syrian government and opposition negotiators to extricate them, according to the Syrian Observer.

Members of the opposition-run local councils met with Syrian and Russian security forces in the final negotiation session. Under the terms of the deal, all fighters and opposition members will be allowed to relocate to the rebel-held province of Idlib. Those who wish to remain in the town must surrender their weapons by Monday, according to the pro-opposition media outlet Zaman al-Wasl.

On Friday, some 300 civilians were evacuated from Mouadamiya under the supervision of the Red Crescent then transferred to a processing facility in the government-held district of Hrajeleh, Al-Monitor reported.

The deal comes 10 days after a similar agreement was reached in the besieged city of Darayya, also in the Damascus suburbs, and is a part of the Syrian government’s strategy to relocate all opposition members to the province of Idlib.

Russia, U.S. Disagree on Syria Solution

The U.S. and Russia failed to reach a cease-fire agreement for Syria on Monday, and the two nations continue to swap blame over the situation in the war-torn country.

“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation, and we haven’t yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a press conference at the G20 summit.

Later on Monday, Russia’s deputy defense minister Anatoly Antonov accused the U.S. of falling short in its duty to guarantee safe passage for aid convoys travelling on the Moscow-implemented humanitarian corridors in northern Aleppo, according to the Associated Press.

Opposition factions “under U.S. control” continued to target those routes, Antonov said in an emailed statement, and Moscow “counts on the United States” to ensure safe passage.

Russia is a primary backer of Assad’s government and the U.S. has supported moderate opposition factions in Syria.

Recommended Reads

• Wall Street Journal: The Only Syrian Solution
• CNN: Syria Deadlock: Why Can’t U.S., Russia Agree?
• Reuters: Israel Maintains Wary Eye on Syria as Conflict Turns to ‘Balagan’
• The Guardian: In Syria and Bosnia, Women Are Quietly Changing the World
• Reuters: Commentary: When Did We Stop Caring About Mass Murder?