All news

Militants shell Syria’s Deraa in breach of ceasefire

Another breach of ceasefire was detected in the suburbs of Damascus, where a sniper opened fire at a prison on Saturday

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Militant groups shelled residential districts, protected by government troops, in the southern Syrian city of Deraa some 110 km from Damascus, a local health official was quoted as saying by the official SANA news agency on Saturday.

The mortar shelling, that left two civilians dead and 12 injured, became another breach of ceasefire in the southern Syrian de-escalation zone that includes Deraa and the eponymous province. On Tuesday, 25 people were injured in hostilities in the city.

Another breach of ceasefire was detected in the suburbs of Damascus, where a sniper opened fire at a prison on Saturday. One woman was killed and 19 people were injured. All of the victims were civilians, who came to visit their jailed relatives.

In a separate incident, one person was injured in shooting in the city of Jaramana some 10 kilometers southeast of the Syrian capital.

On May 4, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed to set up four de-escalation zones in Syria. Under a memorandum signed at the talks in Astana, these four zones include the Idlib Province and some areas in the neighboring provinces (of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama), an area north of Homs, the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, and a couple of provinces in southern Syria - Daraa and Al-Quneitra. In those areas, outlawing combat operations, along with the establishment of a no-fly zone for military aircraft, were set as of May 6. The memorandum was concluded for six months and can be extended automatically.