Daraa offensive (June 2017)

The Daraa offensive (June 2017) is a military operation launched by the Syrian Arab Army and allies against rebel positions in the southern half of Daraa city. Rebels and government forces fought for control of the city's Palestinian refugee camp, a built-up residential area of the city.

Background
In mid-February 2017, the Syrian rebels launched a major offensive against government forces in Daraa city. Rebels initially captured a large part of the al-Manshiyah District, but the offensive soon stalled. By mid-March, the Syrian Army claimed to have regained almost all of the positions it had lost, with less than 25% of Manishiyah remaining under rebel control. However, a renewed rebel attack in early April left the rebels in control of 80% of Manshiyah. Fighting continued, with multiple airstrikes on Daraa by pro-government forces in mid-May. By the end of May, rebel control had extended to a reported 95%.

On 3 June, the rebels launched a new attack in Manshiyah, but were repelled. In retaliation for the attack, the Army heavily shelled rebel-held parts of the city the following day. It was also reported the shelling was part of preparations for an upcoming offensive against the rebels in Daraa.

The offensive
The offensive began on 7 June, with more than 20 airstrikes, as well as surface-to-surface missiles, hitting the rebel strongholds of Daraa al-Balad and al-Sad Road. Final preparations were also concluded for a ground attack with the arrival of the Syrian Army's Fourth Division.

Between 10 and 11 June, five FSA commanders were reported killed in Daraa. Some of these were as a result of a direct rocket strike on a rebel headquarters  amid an intensified bombing campaign by the Army. On 11 June, government forces reportedly made their first territorial advance by capturing most of the School Complex area in the Daraa Camp suburb, a former Palestinian refugee camp. On 12 June, vicious fighting took place in the Palestinian camp, with reports stating the Syrian Army had captured between 30% and 50% of the neighborhood. Rebel forces responded with mortar shelling of government-held neighborhoods of the city. It was reported by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that in the first week of the offensive, government forces had dropped more than 300 barrel bombs and fired 350 surface-to-surface missiles on the rebel-held part of the city.

The Syrian Army announced a 48-hour truce at noon on 17 June. After the truce expired on 20 June, air strikes and artillery fire against rebel-held areas of Daraa city resumed. The Army resumed its efforts to break rebel lines in the east of the city and in the old quarter. Clashes also took place near a former air defence base southwest of the city and near the border with Jordan. Government forces managed to push into some rebel-held areas of Daraa, as well as its western outskirts. In the morning of 20 June, the Army briefly captured the base west of Daraa, potentially splitting rebel territory in the Daraa Governorate in two. However, the rebels recaptured the base by noon on the same day.

On 23 June, an attempt at a reconciliation deal fell apart, thus the Syrian Army resumed their offensive in the Palestinian Camp district, accompanied by airstrikes.

In early July, the government announced a ceasefire in the region. This was formalised on 7 July. However, there was government shelling in the town of Saida in eastern Daraa overnight on 9 July, according to the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights, as well as rebels/government exchange of fire in the village of Al Naeema, shelling of the Al-Balad area in Daraa province, and brief clashes in Daraa city. A barrel bomb was reported by opposition media activists the following day.