Russian police units, which accompanied Russian forces moving towards the Naseeb border crossing between Jordan and Syria, have set up their positions there and in some parts of the town of Daraa, the capital of the southern region of the same name. Rebel militias have begun handing over their heavy equipment to the Syrian army and if there are no new developments Assad can claim that eastern Daraa is in his hands.

Amman is starting to examine the possibility of repatriating hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled to Jordan during the war and Israel is preparing for the next stage, in which Assad forces will deploy in positions they held before the war, determined by the disengagement lines agreed upon by Israel and Syria in 1974. Between these two stages a local battle still awaits Syria in the western areas of Daraa and along its border with Jordan up to the Yarmouk River basin, where the Nusra Front forces, as well as some ISIS units, are positioned. This campaign may take many days, postponing the complete takeover of the south by Assad.

According to reports coming from Syria, Russia only partly kept its commitment to Jordan and Israel, by which Iranian and Hezbollah forces would not take part in the fighting in Daraa. Hezbollah fighters and several Iranian officers were spotted in combat areas, but overall the combat and deployment of forces in the area consisted of only Syrian and Russian forces. In the meantime, the cease-fire agreement has not kicked in yet in western Daraa. It hinges on a reply by local militias, which should arrive within the next day.

Read the full article in Haaretz.