Syria’s Fourth Division Insists on Escalation in Daraa

The Syrian regime’s 4th Armored Division deploys more reinforcements to Daraa. (Ahrar Hawran gathering)
The Syrian regime’s 4th Armored Division deploys more reinforcements to Daraa. (Ahrar Hawran gathering)
TT
20

Syria’s Fourth Division Insists on Escalation in Daraa

The Syrian regime’s 4th Armored Division deploys more reinforcements to Daraa. (Ahrar Hawran gathering)
The Syrian regime’s 4th Armored Division deploys more reinforcements to Daraa. (Ahrar Hawran gathering)

Clashes between the Syrian regime’s 4th Armored Division and opposition fighters in the provincial city of the southern governorate of Daraa continued, leaving areas damaged by shelling and machinegun fire.

Daraa activists documented shelling targeting Tafas town, located in the western countryside of Daraa, and its surrounding plains. In the Tal al-Samn area, north of Tafas, clashes erupted with regime forces stationed there.

A few days ago, regime forces had reinforced their presence there with rocket launchers, artillery and more troops.

On Thursday morning, the regime launched more than 20 rockets against Tafas, killing three people and wounding ten others.

The escalation in Daraa continued amid efforts by local negotiators to revive a Russian-sponsored deal for a truce in the southern governorate signed last Tuesday.

However, the terms and conditions of the agreement go against the 4th Armored Division’s plans for the area.

Observers believe that the Division is actively seeking to obstruct any agreement, despite having accepted the implementation of the Russian roadmap.

Instead of adhering to the ceasefire deal, the Division is insisting on bringing more military reinforcements to Daraa.

On Friday, Amnesty International urged Damascus to allow humanitarian aid to immediately enter the opposition-controlled area in southern Daraa, which is being besieged by the regime forces.

The United Nations has warned of food shortages in Daraa, where opposition-held neighborhoods are encircled by Russia-backed regime fighters seeking to regain control of the area.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
TT
20

Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.