A Syrian tank is seen on the outskirts of the Kharab al-Shahem town in the western countryside of Daraa province in southern Syria on July 8, 2018. The Syrian army has expanded its control over 72 percent of the entire Daraa area in southern Syria, state news agency SANA said on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
DAMASCUS, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Rebels in more towns in the countryside of the southern province of Daraa are surrendering their weapons to the Syrian army as part of the wide-scale campaign by the army to fully capture the key province, local media and activists reported Saturday.
State news agency SANA said the rebels in the cities of Inkhil and Jasem in the western countryside of Daraa have started handing over their medium and heavy weapons to the army on Saturday.
Those areas are two of the few towns located in the western countryside of Daraa, which is the latest to witness deals with the government forces after the army captured the capital city of Daraa and the entire eastern countryside recently.
The Syrian army has already captured over 84 percent of Daraa either through military operations or reconciliation deals since the military campaign started on June 19 this year.
The army has also captured the entire borderline with Jordan in Daraa, including the official Nasib crossing, which has been closed since 2015.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more towns are bracing to implement the deal to surrender weapons to the army as a prelude to the entry of state employees and the return of government institutions to Daraa.
The Britain-based watchdog group said the rebels in the town of al-Harrah are divided between those who support the deal and others who are against.
The town has the highest and most strategic hilltop under the same name in Daraa.
The rebels, who rejected the deal, have stationed on that hill amid ongoing effort to include all factions in the deal for the entry of the Syrian forces to the town.
The reconciliation deals include handing over the rebels' weapons, the entry of the Syrian army, and the departure of rebels who refuse to reconcile with the government toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
The progress of the Syrian army through the reconciliations and military actions will help the Syrian forces to besiege the area that is controlled by the Islamic State (IS) near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Observatory said the areas of the Yarmouk Basin, which are controlled by rebels allied with the IS, accounts for 7.2 percent of the entire Daraa province.
Daraa has a symbolic significance as it was the birthplace of the Syrian war that erupted in 2011. Securing it will be a big victory for the Syrian army both symbolically and militarily as the rebels have used the Jordanian border to bring in arms and fighters throughout the war.
