As Damascus regained more ground under Russian-brokered deals, a string of insurgent-held areas came under regime control on Sunday, according to a group monitoring the conflict in Syria.
Insurgents, local officials and regime ally Russia agreed that four villages and a strategic town near the border with Jordan would be ceded to Damascus, extending government control to some 60% of Syria’s southern Daraa province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia-backed regime forces have been bombarding insurgents in southern Syria since June 19 in an effort to retake areas.
The Daraa region, which borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has played a key role in the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad since it began seven years ago, sparking a civil war.