Hundreds of militants lay down arms in Syria’s Dara’a

“430 militants and 24 soldiers who had violated the service order in Dara’a Al-Balad [Central neighborhood of Dara’a] agreed to regulate their status and handed over 105 pieces of weapons at a reconciliation center in Dara’a Al-Balad,” the source stated.

The new truce agreement between the armed groups and the authorities was signed on Sunday with the mediation of Russia.

The militants began to arrive at the reconciliation center from 10:00 local time, the deadline set by the Syrian authorities for militias to accept the ceasefire conditions. Otherwise, the Syrian Army would resume military operations.

On August 14, the Syrian authorities and militants reached a truce agreement. The militants were obliged to hand over their weapons, with the government forces due to install checkpoints in nine Dara’a Al-Balad districts. All militants who refused to lay down weapons were to leave the province by buses provided by the authorities.

Last week, armed groups in Dara’a violated the agreement, refusing to hand over heavy weapons after the authorities provided them with 40 buses to depart for the North of Syria or Jordan.

Some 290 militants had agreed to lay down weapons and regulate their social status before the truce violation. On August 31, militants attacked state institutions and troops in Dara’a, killing four soldiers and wounding eight more.