BICOM

An Iranian arms depot in Daraa in Southern Syria was damaged yesterday after a series of explosions.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blasts were heard in a base in northern Daraa, near the town of Mhajja. Israel’s Channel 10 news reported Arab media sources saying the base was attacked by an Israeli air strike. Israel has not commented, but has consistently stated its intention to prevent Iran building new bases in Syria and transporting advanced weapons systems to Shia militias.

Israel has conducted a long-running campaign to prevent Iran and its proxies gaining a permanent foothold in southern Syria. Last week the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted an Iranian cargo plane that was thought to be unloading advanced weapons at Damascus International Airport. In May the IAF confirmed it had struck numerous Iranian military positions inside Syria, as well as an SA-22 air defence system.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will meet today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the situation in southern Syria and how to alleviate the humanitarian crisis unfolding.

Safadi said ahead of the meeting: “I look forward to a frank discussion to discuss how to arrive at a ceasefire as soon as possible. There are speedy developments on the ground and the meeting hopefully will result in more understandings and steps forward containing the crisis and prevent more devastation.”

He added that the talks with Lavrov would focus on how to create “conditions on the ground under which people will feel safe” to return to their towns and villages.

The UN yesterday urged Jordan to open its borders to refugees displaced by the fighting. Jordan is sending food and aid supplies but says its borders will remain closed. Israel has also sent humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians who have fled the combat zones and taken shelter in tent camps on the Syrian side of the Golan border. The United Nations Refugee Agency believes that at least 270,000 people have fled their homes in southern Syria since the latest wave of fighting began.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in Daraa and Southern Syria. Sweden, which holds the rotating UNSC presidency, requested the meeting along with Kuwait.

The Syrian Government began its military campaign on June 19 to recapture the southern provinces of Daraa, Quneitra and parts of Sweida, still mostly held by opposition fighters. The Israeli security establishment believes it will take just a few weeks for the Syrian armed forces to regain control of the entire 100-kilometre-long border with Israel, from Hamat Gader in the south to Mt. Hermon in the north.