Syrian Army closes on the Jordanian border with Daraa

A decisive battle is taking place in southern Syria and for the first time in several months; it is taking place along the Jordanian-Syrian border. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) lost the Nassib border-crossing into the Kingdom of Jordan in April 2015, marking the end of the government’s presence along the vast border that stretches as far west as the Golan Heights. However, after months of fighting with the Islamist rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the provincial capital of the Dara’a Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Armored Division is finally within a few hundred meters of the Jordanian-Syrian border-crossing.

On Thursday afternoon, the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Armored Division – in close coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) – advanced to the final point in the Al-Manishiyah Quarter of Dara’a City before reaching the Nayef border-crossing to the Jordanian province of ‘Irbid.

Overwhelmed and exhausted, the Islamist rebels issued a distress call to their allies in the region to help them beat back the advancing government forces. The Islamists were able to hold their positions at the Dara’a Border Inspection Facility; however, their backs are currently against the wall, as the Syrian Armed Forces are within a few hundred meters of the provincial capital’s border-crossing.