The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, after the new advance of the anti-Assad rebels and the conquest of several provinces. The army of Damascus retreats and the regime seems on the verge of crumbling, despite the help of Russia.
The situation is increasingly alarming and chaotic, so much so that Iran has begun evacuating high-ranking military commanders and other officials , including heads of the Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force and diplomats with their families and civilians. The New York Times reports that some officials have left Syria by plane, while others have left by land for Lebanon, Iraq and the Syrian port city of Latakia. The United States and Jordan have also urged their citizens to leave Syria "as soon as possible."
In addition to Hama , Syrian opposition groups have taken control of Daraa , a city near the border with Jordan, in the last few hours. The conquest has a strong symbolic value: Daraa is considered the birthplace of the anti-regime insurrection in Syria, since it was in this city that the first spark of the 2011 uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad was lit. The protests, initially aimed at demanding freedom and reform, were brutally repressed, marking the beginning of the civil war.
(Unioneonline/lf)
