The regime offensive led by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Hezbollah militia in Dara’a province has so far failed to make significant gains due to the FSA’s heroic resistance.
Ahmed Al Jibawi, an FSA’s commander in Dara’a province, confirmed that the regime offensive is led by Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force—a special forces division of the IRGC, and Mustafa Badr, Hezbollah’s top military commander. The offensive aims to recapture northwestern Dara’a province, Western Damascus province and rural Quneitra to thwart the FSA’s efforts to link with their comrades in the Western Damascus suburbs.
Jibawi pointed out that the FSA fighters took many pro-regime militants captives, including a senior IRGC commander and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers in personnel and equipment.
Member of the political committee Mohammed Qaddah said that Iran is now effectively occupying part of Syrian territory, describing Iran’s military intervention in Syria as a blatant violation of its sovereignty and of international law.
He also said that Assad and his Iranian allies chose southern Syria to pave the way for the creation of a “Syrian Hezbollah” that will serve as a political military force disguised as a resistance movement to the Israeli occupation. Qaddah stresses that the real goal of the new militia force will be consolidating Iran’s influence in the Middle East and making it a key player in the region, pointing out that Iran seeks to take advantage of the Syrians’ hostile sentiment to the Zionist project and falsely claim that it supports resistance movements in the region, thus derailing the Syrian revolution off its original goals and discrediting it. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
