Syrian regime shelling of rebel Daraa town kills one civilian

Syrian regime strikes on a town in Daraa, southern Syria, have killed one and left others injured, in the latest act of violence on the troubled province.

One young man was reported dead and three other civilians were wounded in regime shelling on Tafas.

Activist Abu al-Bara al-Hourani from the Horan Free League told The New Arab’s sister site Al Araby Al Jadeed that the shelling coincided with violent clashes between local factions and regime forces trying to advance towards Tafas from the town's southern plains after recently bringing in military reinforcements to the outskirts.

Al-Hourani added that the forces trying to storm Tafas belonged to the Syrian military’s 15th Division.

Tafas has seen numerous revolts against regime rule since the former opposition town fell in 2018.

There were calls from Tafas and Daraa to the people of the Houran -  an area traditionally encompassing parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan -  to assist Syrians in towns under regime bombardment.

Tuesday’s shelling comes after two regime soldiers were killed and four others wounded when their vehicle was struck on a road linking the towns of Al-Harah and Zimrin in Daraa's northwestern countryside area.

Daraa, a former opposition stronghold and the birthplace of Syria’s 2011 uprising, was captured by President Bashar al-Assad regime in 2018.

The governorate as a whole has been volatile since then, with many attacks targeting regime forces as well as former rebels very frequently.

Remaining towns and villages still largely outside of regime control have come under siege or bombardment to hand over militants and disarm.

The Syrian war has killed over half a million people, displaced millions, and left the country in infrastructural and economic ruins.