Will Daraa fall?

July 11, 2013

Moaz al-Ta’ani, 25, is a citizen journalist and member of the field office for the United Houran LCCs, the umbrella organization for the Local Coordinating Committees in Daraa province. Abdulrahman al-Masri asks al-Ta’ani the critical question on observers’ minds: Is Daraa about to fall to the regime?

Q: Has the Free Syrian Army begun to lose Daraa?

A: There is no indication to predict such a loss. On the contrary, there are a number of fronts in Daraa that are open, there is more than one battle, and there is progress for the Free Syrian Army on some fronts in Daraa. We do not deny that there are battles we have lost, nor do we deny that there have been martyrs from the FSA.

Q: What is the situation there now?

The present situation we are witnessing is a military escalation from both sides. To add to that, there is daily shelling on the villages and towns of Daraa. We have more than 15 villages and towns subjected to the shelling every day. The areas and villages that are shelled are those that were liberated, which the regime lost and has not been able to reclaim.

Q: Is any military aid reaching the FSA from what you can tell?

A: As for aid, the support is still limited to private aid and those spoils seized by the FSA recently from a number of liberated military barracks and military checkpoints. There are also hand weapons produced by the rebels.