BEIRUT — Syrian government forces advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa on Sunday under the cover of air strikes, entering new villages amid reports that the U.S. has told rebels not to expect an American intervention to defend them from the army’s offensive. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said that the U.S. has informed rebel groups in southern Syria that Washington will not intervene in the operations to defend them against the government offensive that is ongoing under the cover of Russian airstrikes. The US, Russia and Jordan agreed last year to include Daraa as part of a "de-escalation zone", but after dropping leaflets by air across the area warning of an imminent offensive and urging insurgents to lay down their arms, Syrian planes began dropping barrel bombs on populated areas on June 21. “Regime troops made their first advance in the area since the military escalation on Tuesday, seizing the villages of Al-Bustan and Al-Shumariya in the eastern part of Daraa province,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Syrian government launches a ground offensive in the eastern part of the southern province of Daraa.