Syrian opposition, Russia fail to reach ceasefire deal

By Levent Tok, Mohamad Misto, Adham Kako

DARAA, Syria/ ANKARA, Turkey

Negotiations between the Syrian opposition groups and Russia on Saturday could not end with a peace deal in the southern Daraa province.

According to local sources, Russian delegation and the opposition forces -- who are under attack by the Bashar al-Assad regime forces lately -- met to discuss a permanent cease-fire in Daraa.

Ibrahim Jabawi, spokesman for the Syrian opposition, confirmed Anadolu Agency that a deal could not be reached.

"Russia has offered severe conditions. So, the opposition forces have withdrawn from the deal," Jabawi said, adding that the Russian side offered the opposition forces to hand over the whole of the southern part of Syria to the regime forces.

"Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been asked to hand down all of the heavy and light weapons it has. They also asked [the opposition] to put the people on the regime's detention list on trial," Jabawi said.

In the last several days, Daraa has been the target of intense air and ground attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, who have advanced deep into Daraa’s eastern countryside, capturing the towns of Busra al-Harir and Nahtah.

Over 100 civilians have been killed and thousands displaced since the regime offensive began two weeks ago.

Following peace talks held last year in Kazakh capital Astana, Daraa was designated a “de-escalation zone” in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.