Russia Expands its Presence to Syrian-Jordanian Border

Gunmen settle their status at the center in Nassib. (Getty Images)
Gunmen settle their status at the center in Nassib. (Getty Images)
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Russia Expands its Presence to Syrian-Jordanian Border

Gunmen settle their status at the center in Nassib. (Getty Images)
Gunmen settle their status at the center in Nassib. (Getty Images)

Russian troops and the Syrian regime established a center for settling the status of gunmen, the wanted, and military deserters and handing over their weapons in Nassib town.

The agreement, based on the settlement agreement proposed by the state in August, started in Nassib near the Jordanian border in the southern Daraa province.

The center implements the new Russian map agreement for the settlement areas in southern Syria, which includes handing over light and medium weapons in the region.

The previous agreement in 2018 allowed former opposition fighters to keep their weapons.

Local sources in Nassib said a security committee of the regime arrived at the center to implement settlements. It will work with the Russian police and local forces from residents affiliated with the Military Security department.

The agreement includes several areas on the border, which are considered areas of influence affiliated with the former commander of the Yarmouk Army, Imad Abu Zureik.

Abu Zureik has been in charge of these areas within the military-security apparatus since the settlement agreement in 2018.

The Daraa province has witnessed in recent days similar settlement operations, starting from the Daraa al-Balad neighborhood.

Previously, the Ninth Division al-Sanamayn, located north of Daraa, met with the security committee of the regime and the Russian forces in coordination with Abu Zreik, who heads a group working for the military security in these areas.

The meeting included officials from Nassib, Umm al-Mayathen and al-Taibah.

The Nassib crossing is strategically located on the Damascus-Amman International Highway and it recently reopened following an agreement between the Jordanian and Syrian governments.

It is one of the most critical areas of the military security’s influence and boasts a large group of volunteers, who are affiliated with Abu Zureik.

Abu Zureik returned from Jordan after the reconciliation agreement in 2018 and formed affiliated groups working for the military security, namely in Nassib, Umm al-Mayathen and al-Taibah.

Informed sources said the Russian map would include Giza and al-Mutaiyah in the eastern countryside of Daraa. The agreement was reached following a meeting with local notables from Daraa al-Mahatta on Saturday.

They added that the new agreement includes areas adjacent to the Jordanian border, including the police stations within the administrative boundaries of Daraa.



US Airstrikes Killed 12 People in Yemen’s Capital

Yemenis watch a damaged vehicle at Farwah popular market which Houthis said it was struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo)
Yemenis watch a damaged vehicle at Farwah popular market which Houthis said it was struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo)
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US Airstrikes Killed 12 People in Yemen’s Capital

Yemenis watch a damaged vehicle at Farwah popular market which Houthis said it was struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo)
Yemenis watch a damaged vehicle at Farwah popular market which Houthis said it was struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo)

US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed 12 people and wounded 30 others, the Houthi group said early Monday.
The deaths mark the latest in America’s intensified campaign of strikes targeting the Houthis. The US military’s Central Command declined to answer questions about the strike or discuss civilian casualties from its campaign.
The Houthis described the strike as hitting the Farwa neighborhood market in Sanaa’s Shuub district. That area has been targeted before by the Americans.
Footage aired by the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel showed damage to vehicles and buildings in the area, with screaming onlookers holding what appeared to be a dead child. Others wailed on stretchers heading into a hospital
Strikes overnight into Monday also hit other areas of the country, including Yemen's Amran, Hodeida, Marib and Saada governorates.
The strikes come after US airstrikes hit the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen last week, killing at least 74 people and wounding 171 others.
The strikes follow the resumption of negotiations in Rome between the US and Iran over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, which Washington has linked to its attacks in Yemen.
The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.
The new US operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than attacks on the group were under President Joe Biden, an AP review found. The new campaign started after the group threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
From November 2023 until this January, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it. The Houthis also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.
Assessing the toll of the month-old US airstrike campaign has been difficult because the military hasn’t released information about the attacks, including what was targeted and how many people were killed. The Houthis, meanwhile, strictly control access to attacked areas and don’t publish complete information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites.