The Syrian government intensified its air campaign on rebel-held Daraa on Thursday, sending thousands more civilians fleeing towards the closed Israeli and Jordanian borders.
The regime restarted its aerial and ground attack of Daraa, in the south of the country, after talks between the opposition and the government’s Russian allies broke down on Wednesday evening.
There had been a four-day pause as the two sides negotiated, but after talks collapsed a barrage of hundreds of missiles and crude barrel bombs rained down.
Ibrahim Jabawi, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army group, said the Russians had insisted that the rebels hand over their weapons "immediately" but that they would only do so once the displaced begin returning to their homes and Iran-backed militias withdrew from the area.
Hours into the bombing, Mr Jabawi was forced back to the negotiating table.
A photograph from the scene of one attack showed a whole family killed in one air strike, their bodies piled on top of each other in the back of a pick-up truck.
More than 320,000 people have fled the area in recent weeks for the frontiers of the Israel-occupied Golan Heights and Jordan, according to the United Nations, which has warned of a humanitarian crisis.
Both countries have refused to open their borders to refugees, although Amman has sent aid across to camps on the other side.
Alaa Faqir/Reuters
Families have been forced to sleep outside under trees, with too few resources to go around.
One woman, Umm Omar, said she was struggling to find even a tent for her children.
“Most of the displaced are living in school buildings or sleeping out in the open,” she told the Telegraph. “Children are starting to get illness and skin conditions. There is no shelter of any kind.”
The development came as it emerged Hizbollah militants were fighting in support of the regime near the Golan Heights, despite assurances made to Israel by their Russian allies.
Israel had pressured Moscow before the offensive on Daraa started on June 19 to keep Iranian-backed forces, which included the Lebanese Hizbollah militia, away from its frontier.
However, pro-Assad commanders have since confirmed that the Lebanese Shia fighters are not only taking part in the battle but are in some areas leading Syrian troops.
"Hizbollah is a fundamental participant in planning and directing this battle," a commander in the regional alliance that backs Damascus told Reuters. "Everyone knows this – the Israeli enemy, friends, and even the Russians."
They are thought to be fighting in Syrian army uniform so as not to draw attention.
AFP
The presence of hostile forces on the ground risks Israeli escalation in one of the most sensitive campaigns yet of the Syrian war.
"If there is a violation, and certainly in the southern Syrian region which is close to the citizens of the State of Israel, and a bringing of weaponry that should not be there, Israel will take action," Gilad Erdan, Israel’s public security minister, said. "Unequivocally, yes."
Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been heavily dependent on thousands of Hizbollah and Iran-backed troops, as well as Russian air power, to reclaim opposition-held parts of the country.
For Assad, the latest campaign holds out the prospect of reopening a vital trade artery to Jordan, re-establishing his control over the Golan frontier, and crushing rebels once deemed a threat because of their proximity to Damascus.
The US has also called for Iran-backed forces to leave Syria, which looks to be an unrealistic prospect given its growing influence in the country.
John Bolton, White House national security adviser, said on Sunday that Donald Trump, the US president, would discuss Syria with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a summit in Helsinki later this month.
"There are possibilities for doing a larger negotiation on helping to get Iranian forces out of Syria and back into Iran, which would be a significant step forward," Mr Bolton said.
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