Al-Jazeera correspondent in Syria reported that Russian air strikes, according to Syrian opposition observatories, targeted the vicinity of the town of Al-Bara in Jabal Al-Zawiya, south of Idlib, at a time when there was no information about casualties.

Also, in the north of Syria, the regime forces bombed with artillery the outskirts of the town of Maarbelit in the Idlib countryside and the outskirts of the town of "Takad" in the western countryside of Aleppo, and in the south, the regime forces shelled with artillery the towns of Nahata, Busr al-Harir and Maliha al-Atash.

On the other hand, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed that Moscow is counting on a peaceful solution to the situation in the Syrian province of Daraa.

Bogdanov revealed that representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry are holding consultations in Daraa with various parties regarding the situation there, and expressed his country's hope to avoid civilian casualties and to find consensus between the parties there, as he put it.


The plight of civilians in Daraa

In turn, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, sounded the alarm about the plight of civilians in the city of Daraa, southern Syria, and the surrounding areas.

Bachelet described the picture in those areas as bleak, and said that their residents are stuck under siege, and that their neighborhoods are witnessing fierce fighting and indiscriminate bombing by government forces and armed opposition groups.

She emphasized that civilians can only leave these neighborhoods through a single road that is stiflingly controlled by the Syrian government, and that civilians are exposed there to imminent dangers, and their property is seized and stolen.

"A ceasefire must be implemented immediately in order to alleviate the suffering of civilians in Daraa. I also call on the parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access," Bachelet said.


Thousands flee

18,000 civilians fled the armed opposition-controlled areas in the city of Daraa as a result of a military escalation with the regime forces that lasted a few days.

After a two-day military escalation at the end of last month between fighters in the city of Daraa and the regime forces, negotiations began under the auspices of Russia that established calm, but they have not produced a tangible result so far.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announced in a statement today, Thursday, that since last July 28, “the escalation of hostilities has forced at least 18,000 civilians to flee from Daraa al-Balad,” that is, the southern neighborhoods of Daraa city, where opposition fighters are still present. They agreed to a settlement with the regime forces.

"Many of them fled to the city of Daraa itself and to the surrounding areas. Among them are hundreds of people who have taken refuge in schools in Daraa al-Mahatta," she added, referring to the areas under the control of the regime forces in the city.


violent confrontations

Daraa governorate is the only area from which all the opposition fighters did not leave after the regime forces regained control over it in July 2018. A settlement agreement sponsored by Moscow put an end to military operations and maintained the presence of opposition fighters who retained light weapons, while the regime forces did not deploy in All over the province.

They are found in a few areas, including the southern neighborhoods of Daraa city.

Some former opposition fighters joined the Fifth Corps, a faction in the Syrian army backed by Russia.

But since 2018, the governorate has witnessed clashes from time to time between the regime forces and opposition fighters, dozens of whom have left during the past two years to the northwest of the country.

At the end of last July, confrontations erupted in separate areas of the province, including the city of Daraa, which are considered the most violent in 3 years, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The violent confrontations lasted for two days before decreasing in intensity with the start of negotiations under the auspices of Russia to reach an agreement aimed at evacuating dozens of fighters from Daraa al-Balad.

Over the past weeks, the regime's forces gradually tightened the screws on Daraa al-Balad.

According to the United Nations, residents can only cross one road on foot, exposing them to "strict security checks."