Date: Jun 22, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Thousands flee as regime bombards south BEIRUT: Thousands of civilians have fled “intensified” regime bombardments of rebel-held areas in southern Syria in the past three days, activists said Thursday, as fears mount of a full-blown assault. President Bashar Assad has set his sights on retaking rebel-controlled parts of southern Syria, whether through negotiations or a military operation, and has been amassing troops there in recent weeks. So far, no deal has been struck to avert fighting over the southern opposition stronghold that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Opposition activist Riyad al-Zein told The Daily Star that the Syrian government used artillery to pound a number of towns in the country’s south, including Nahta, Busr al-Harir and Hirak, killing at least 15 and wounding 74 more. He estimated that around 3,000 families had headed to Jordan. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 12,000 civilians have fled their homes in the last three days to escape the bombardment. Opposition fighters control around two-thirds of Deraa, which borders Jordan, but the regime holds a sliver of territory in the center of the province. Daesh (ISIS) also holds a pocket of ground in Deraa province. A media activist in Busr al-Harir told AFP thousands had left their homes in areas near his village. “Entire villages have fled,” Mohammad Ibrahim said. The U.N. humanitarian coordination office reported that 2,500 people had fled Nahta as of Wednesday. The OCHA said the United Nations was “concerned about reports of an escalation of violence in Deraa ... which is endangering civilians and causing hundreds of families to become displaced.” Deraa is largely considered to be the birthplace of the Syrian uprising in 2011 that eventually spiraled into civil war after a brutal crackdown. The regime retaking it would be a symbolic victory. State news agency SANA, using its customary term for rebels, said the army was shelling positions of “terrorists” in Hirak and Busr al-Harir Thursday and had killed a number of them. In the neighboring province of Swaida to the east, two civilians were killed Thursday in rebel bombardment of the provincial capital of the same name, SANA said. After a string of military victories against rebels earlier this year near Damascus, the regime has turned its attention to ousting rebels from areas of southern Syria. These include parts of Deraa and the neighboring province of Qunaitra to the west, which is largely controlled by rebels and borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Opposition activists have warned that the regime and its allies are attempting to create a “triangle of hell” defense line around the city. Deraa, Qunaitra and Swaida are included in a “de-escalation zone” agreed by the United States, Russia and neighbor Jordan last year. The U.S. meanwhile warned Russia and Assad of “serious repercussions” for violations of an unraveling cease-fire. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. was “deeply troubled” by reports of “increasing Syrian regime operations” within the truce boundaries. Nauert said the U.S. demanded that Russia “restrain” Assad’s forces from further action in the zone covered by the truce. She said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo relayed that message to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by phone over the weekend. In an interview with Iran’s Al-Alam television channel also last week, Assad said contacts were ongoing between Russia, the U.S. and Israel over the southern front. “We are giving the political talks a chance, but if they fail, there will be no choice but liberation by force,” he said.