The southern province has seen a surge of violence recently despite lying within one of the four of “de-escalation” zones proposed by Russia
Ras al-Sofuf operation room will tackle regime attempts to advance in the eastern side of the city as Syrian army continues to pound Daraa, opposition website reports
Spokesman for key rebel group responds to claims of huge prisoner swap, describing reports of purported settlement as ‘baseless and unfounded’
Washington aims to limit Tehran’s political weight and break the line of Iranian influence by engaging in deal-making with Russia, Ibrahim Hamidi writes for Saudi-owned newspaper
Russian military website confirms renewed tensions between Syrian army forces and allied Iranian-backed militias in the south, opposition media writes
Coalition president responds to announcement of declaration, which aims to form a reserve army of 34,000 troops to back counterterrorism operations
Banners in the pro-Hezbollah city Nabatieh threaten Syrian workers amid rising tensions between locals and refugees, opposition website writes
In the wake of Khan Sheikhoun, U.S. statements this week exposing the Syrian regime for covering-up its abuses were intended as yet another warning to Assad, Russia and Iran, Walid al-Bunni writes
Abdulnasser Al-Ayed explains that for Russia’s ‘safe zone’ proposal to work, Moscow will need to consider U.S. concerns despite attempts to sideline Washington in the Syrian peace process
Rebel leader Abou Ammar says the international community’s disregard for Tehran and Moscow’s role in Syria will result in an expansion of the conflict beyond Syria’s borders, Alsouria Net writes
Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub says Iran, Russia and Hezbollah are the only forces who can foil the conspiracy against Syria, government outlet reports
Fighters and their families from Foua and Kafraya have taken up new residence in an area cleared by Iran and Hezbollah in 2013 with a view of creating a Shiite presence there, opposition outlet Zaman al-Wasl reports
Unnamed source claims Walid al-Muallem told U.S. official that Syria cannot be held accountable for killing civilians as long as America is responsible for civilian deaths in ISIS-held Mosul, opposition website Zaman al-Wasl reports
Opposition members and activists decry the forced relocation of thousands of civilians from the “four Syrian towns” as part of a negotiation deal to release kidnapped Qatari businessmen, Paula Istih writes for Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat
Legal expert says Lebanese security agencies are ‘selectively’ deporting and refusing to issue residence permits to certain refugees who come from specific areas of Syria, while those who are at risk claim state agencies are enacting a deliberate policy to make life hard for Syrians to encourage their flight, opposition website Enab Baladi writes
Opposition site Alsouria Net reports on attack which targeted convoy of around 5,000 people who had been granted safe passage out of the besieged Shiite villages
Trump had to send a message to all parties supporting Assad that he won’t just resort to Syrian talks but will be part of the joint offensives in Syria, Tariq Alhomayed writes
Iraqi Shiite militias fighting in the Hama countryside recently launched a media campaign alongside their military efforts to take back the town, attempting to win public support among Christian residents by falsely claiming to have recaptured a number of churches, opposition outlet All4Syria writes
President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to Croatian newspaper Vecernji List published Thursday, in which he reflects on six years of conflict, the negotiation process and the fight against terrorism. The following is the full text as published by government news agency SANA
Zaman al-Wasl profiles the life of the former deputy defense minister and brother-in-law of Bashar al-Assad, whose proximity to and life’s work for the regime did little to earn him wide respect among the ruling family
