The latest on the situation in DaraaReuters UK- Yesterday
An Israeli cabinet minister warned Syria and its backer Russia on Thursday that Israel could attack Damascus’ forces if they try to deploy in a demilitarized border zone while advancing against rebels in the regionIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next Wednesday, called twice this week for the preservation of a U.N.-monitored 1974 Israeli-Syrian armistice barring or limiting military build-ups by either side around the Golan.“We must verify and do everything to clarify, vis-a-vis the Russians, the Assad government, that we will not accept any armed presence by the Assad regime in the areas which are meant to be demilitarized,” Gilad Erdan, a minister in Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told the Israeli news site Ynet on Thursday. Asked if Israel was prepared to take preventive action against the Syrian military, Erdan said: “Unequivocally, yes.”
Israel captured much of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognised abroad.
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli air force struck a position on Friday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights ( it's all the Syrian side) frontier, sources on both sides said.
An Israeli air strike targeted a hill in Khan Arnabeh village in Quneitra province without causing casualties, a commander in the pro-Damascus regional alliance told Reuters.
Israel’s military said it struck a Syrian army post that had shelled a buffer zone on the Golan frontier during fighting with rebels in southern Syria.
Israel, which annexed the Golan after seizing much of it from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, has beefed up its tank and artillery forces on the plateau.Israel has been watching warily as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military and its allies advance near the Golan. During Syria’s seven-year war, it has conducted scores of air strikes on what it describes as Iranian or Tehran-backed targets.
Rebels in southern Syria reach deal to end violence
Ibrahim Jabawi, spokesman for the rebels' joint operations room, was quoted as saying by news agencies that under Friday's agreement reached with Russian negotiators the fighters will begin to hand over some of their heavy weapons in return for a government pullout from several villages.
Jabawi added that Russian military police will deploy along the border with Jordan, including the strategically important Naseeb border crossing (??) and that rebels opposed to the deal will be evacuated to rebel-held regions in northern Syria
These reports state that SAA and allies have taken the Naseeb border crossing:UKReuters
Hundreds of troops in a large military convoy with Russian and Syrian flags are close to Syria’s Nassib border crossing with Jordan, witnesses said.
The convoy of dozens of armoured vehicles and tanks was moving on a military road that runs parallel to the Jordanian side of the border fence.It was spotted by two witnesses near the Jordanian side of the fence.
Syrian Army Takes Jordan Border Crossing From Rebels
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops took control of a key border crossing with Jordan on Friday, three years after it fell to rebel fighters, state-run Syrian TV said.The capture of the Naseeb crossing, crucial for Syria’s trade with Gulf countries, comes as pro-Assad forces advance in the southern province of Daraa,
Recall my posts on the necessity to take back the highway that goes all the way thru from Turkey to Jordan, passing Aleppo and Damascus on the way. Like a vital artery for Syria's economic well being?
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Russian/Turkish deal for Tell Rifaat. The Micro & Macro along the Silk Road: Pepe Escobar
I’m also wondering if this major highway, a major strategic route that passes through all of Syria, from Turkey, into Jordan is a part of the larger Silk Road project. Looking at a map it appears this is the M5 highway from Aleppo that connects Jordan and Turkey. The M5 also connects into the M4 which goes straight into Iraq. Which not coincidentally is all held by Usrael Kurds at this time. I believe this highway would be extremely significant in the macro. The macro being the Four Seas Strategy and the Silk Road Initiative" Related to Daraa
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