DAMASCUS, June 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,000 people, including rebels, surrendered to the Syrian army in the southern province of Daraa on Wednesday, state news agency SANA reported.
Wanted men, such as draft dodgers, were also among those who surrendered, the report said.
The Syrian authorities have cleared the records of those who reached the army, as part of the offers to encourage the engagement in a reconciliation process with the government.
Rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front attempt to thwart the reconciliation efforts in Daraa, SANA said.
The Syrian army recently started the first stage of a wide-scale offensive in rebel-held areas in southern Syria, aiming to eradicate ultra-radical groups from the countryside of Daraa and nearby provinces of Quneitra and Sweida.
The battles focused on rebel positions in the eastern and northeastern countryside of Daraa, where the Syrian army made several key achievements in the fighting against rebels.
