Dozens of residents in the town of Jasem, in northern rural Daraa, protested against the forced reconciliation that the Assad regime is attempting to impose on defectors from the town.
The protesters held signs reading: “May God not forgive those who reconcile with them,” in response to the Assad regime’s efforts to enforce a new reconciliation deal aimed at reintegrating defectors into its forces.
Basel Ghuneim, a member of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), stated that the regime seeks to impose full control over Daraa province, abandoning previous forced reconciliation agreements, and imposing new ones that would allow it to either conscript former opposition fighters or enforce its decisions on the region completely.
Ghuneim did not rule out that these actions might be directed by Iran, which is losing its front in Lebanon. He emphasized the need for a clear international stance to prevent destabilization of the region and to work on activating the political process to implement international resolutions on Syria, particularly the Geneva Communiqué of 2012 and UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
