Quneitra and Nasir borders reopened Monday morning; Syria calls on last rebel stronghold in Idlib to leave proposed demilitarized zone; Syrian FM: We are now reaping the fruits of the beginnings of victory.
The Israeli-Syrian border crossing was reopened Monday morning after four years of being closed due to Syria’s civil war.
The Quneitra border crossing, which is used mostly by UN peacekeeping forces, as well as the Nasib border crossing from Syria to Jordan, were both reopened on Monday. The Queintra border crossing was closed in 2014 due to heavy fighting and an influx of rebel forces that pushed UN peacekeeping forces out.
In July of this year, Assad’s regime regained control of southwest Syria from Islamic State militants. It is the first time the Syrian army has controlled the region on Israel’s border in seven years.
Ceremonies were held for both of the border crossing’s reopening, a signal from the Assad regime on its “victory” in its 7 year civil war. Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem claimed on Monday “We are now reaping the fruits of the beginnings of victory.”
The minister announced that Syrian army forces would be deployed to the Idlib region, a proposed demilitarized zone, warning rebel forces who refuse to leave. As per an agreement between Russia and Turkey, Idlib would serve as a demilitarized zone. Some rebel forces and militants, however, refuse to leave the region, a group affiliated with al-Qaida releasing a statement on Sunday, “we warn at the same time against the trickery of the Russian occupier or having faith in its intentions.”
Amir gave a Middle East Current Events Update from the Syrian-Israeli border last week. You can find it below.
Photo: Ilya Zuskovich/Shutterstock.com
