Syria’s Defense Ministry has dismissed reports that army forces had withdrawn from rural Damascus, calling such reports “a disinformation campaign aimed at spreading panic.” The statement came on Saturday.
As per ministry, the Syrian army maintained its position and remained fully deployed in rural Damascus, standing ready to confront “any terrorist aggression”.
The denial came as several reports of government troops pulling back from several positions in southern provinces, including Quneitra and Daraa near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, as well as Sweida, surfaced.
Earlier, it was learnt that Syrian army has withdrawn from much of the southern region as rebels gained Daraa and Sweida parts of the country in a lightning offensive.
Meanwhile, top diplomats from Iran, Turkey and Russia have met in Qatar on Saturday for talks on Syria.
After the discussions in Doha with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Hakan Fidan, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the parties agreed on the initiation of “political dialogue between the Syrian government and the legitimate opposition groups”.
The three countries have been involved since 2017 in the so-called Astana format talks seeking a political settlement in Syria.
Syria’s civil war has killed more than 500,000 people and forced more than half the population to flee their homes.
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