1 July 2019
One of hundreds of thousands displaced by Russian bombing last summer in southern Syria, our author was crammed into a tent with five other women, who passed the time telling one another their dreams and desires.
درعا
Russia told south Syria’s rebel commanders it would protect them if they agreed to “reconcile” with the regime last summer. Dozens have since been killed or arrested.
Two days after rebels reached a deal with Russia to end fighting in southern Syria, Moscow and the Assad regime are already back on the offensive. Meanwhile, Daraa’s tens of thousands of displaced civilians scramble west toward Quneitra, where the bloodshed may soon follow them.
An Al-Jumhuriya colleague in south Syria currently fleeing Russian and Assad regime bombing tells of her ordeal over the past few days, and the bleak prospects for the coming ones.
Despite a US green light for Russia and the regime to bomb at will in Daraa Province, rebels have thus far refused to surrender after several bloody days of Russian air strikes, regime barrel bombs, and yet more waves of civilian displacement.
The Assad regime has evicted over 75,000 civilians from just five towns and villages around Daraa. Now they’re demanding their right to return—but is anyone listening?
Revolution, in its deepest sense, has no beginning or end according to Odai Al-Zoubi, it is rather a continuous project.