Free Republic

The streets of Daraa are empty these days, as if the war had returned to the city. The videos that appear on social networks under the hashtag #savedaraa are often grim – many houses were shelled by the Syrian army and completely destroyed and thousands of refugees are again leaving the city and nearby villages, fleeing yet another round of violence and hunger. Daraa, an impoverished city surrounded by agricultural areas in southern Syria, became the cradle of the Syrian revolution in 2011. A decade later, it is still fighting against the oppressive regime and protesting negligence, poverty and violence,...

Over 1,000 Militants Surrender To Syrian Army In Last 24 Hours The development came after President Bashar al-Assad in a televised address in July pardoned all soldiers who have fled the army, saying that his words served as a general decree to relevant officials. Hundreds of foreign-backed militants surrendered to the government troops in the province of Daraa, Syria's National Reconciliation Committee announced on Monday. Hundreds of foreign-backed militants surrendered to the government troops in the province of Daraa, Syria’s National Reconciliation Committee announced on Monday. Over 1,000 terrorists laid down arms and surrendered to the Syrian authorities over the...

Fighting between the government of Bashar al-Assad and various opposition forces continues to intensify in Daraa province, in southern Syria. For religious minorities, the rising conflict means living in fear of persecution. By either side. “In my village, Namir, there is no difference between Christians and Muslims,” Nour, 28, who studied English literature and fled with her parents during a regime assault, told Syria Deeply. “We all had to leave.” Since the emergence of hard-line armed groups such as the Islamic State and the Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), several minority groups – among them Christians, Alawites, Shiites, Druze and others...

A coalition of moderate rebel factions known as the Southern Front took control of the Brigade 52 base by early afternoon, spokesman Issam al-Reis said. Brigade 52 is the largest military installation in Daraa province, which borders Jordan, and is key to the defense of northern routes leading to the Syrian capital, Damascus... The loss of the base is another blow to Assad's forces, which have recently suffered a string of battlefield defeats. A largely Islamist rebel alliance that includes al-Qaeda's powerful Syria affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, has seized most of northwestern Idlib province. The Islamic State militant group has captured...

Was UFO a Russian ballistic missile? Russian Defense Ministry says it successfully test-fired intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday; earlier, unidentified flying object reported in Israel, Lebanon, other states in region and Reports from the Syrian cities of Daraa, Hama and Dir al-Zur are claiming that Assad's forces are using unknown gas shells against civilians. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4239820,00.htm

Where's the so-called "angry Arab street?"When will the hypocritic Arab-Muslim world start giving a 'dime' about its own people. Arab-Muslim on Arab-Muslim crimes against humanity - routine. The "moderate" voice of Islamic-Arabs: "We can kill each other by the thousands!"(Syria, Hamah massacre - 1982, Daraa, Jisr al-Shughour and Hama massacres, mass torture of kids - 2011), Black September [Jordanians vs "Palestinians"] 1970 , Iraqis vs Iraqis since 2003, "Palestinians" VS each other (Hamas/Fatah 2007), "Palestinians" & Hezbollah using civilians (routine), Libyans (2011 massacres), Bahrainians [Shiite Apartheid VS Sunni], Algerians (100,000 dead in the 1970s') Yemen (2011), Tunisia (2011), Egypt (2011),...

Human Rights Watch says it has reports of recent killings and torture by Syrian troops that may qualify as crimes against humanity. The New York-based group released a report Wednesday based on more than 50 interviews with victims and witnesses of the violence. The report centers on the southern city of Daraa, where Syrian forces allegedly carried out some of the worst violence against civilians since anti-government protests began in March. The rights group says witnesses told of beatings, torture using electroshock devices, and detention of people seeking medical care. It called on the Syrian government to take steps immediately...