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How did opposition fighters in Daraa’s Sanamayn go separate ways?

Twenty-one opposition fighters from the city of Sanamayn have arrived in opposition areas in the Aleppo countryside in line with an agreement concluded between the Assad regime and the opposition under Russian sponsorship.

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Fighters from the Free Syrian Army are seen in Daraa, Syria, May 29, 2018. — REUTERS/ Alaa al Faqir

ALEPPO COUNTRYSIDE, Syria — In accordance with a Russian-sponsored agreement concluded with Syrian regime forces, 21 Syrian opposition fighters who were displaced from the city of Sanamayn in the Daraa countryside in southern Syria arrived March 3 in areas controlled by the Turkish-backed National Army, which is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in northwestern Syria.

The Syrian Red Crescent accompanied the fighters up until the Abu al-Zandin crossing point, which connects opposition-held areas to regime-held areas in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo.

The Sanamayn fighters were received at the crossing point by a number of faction leaders and Moral Guidance Department officials from the National Army. While the wounded were transported from the bus to hospitals, the rest were transferred to opposition camps in the Aleppo countryside. 

Moral Guidance Department official Osmat al-Absi supervised the reception of the fighters. “The third corps of the National Army received 21 fighters who were displaced from the city of Sanamayn. These include four wounded, one of whom needs surgery. The fighters arriving from Sanamayn were placed in a National Army camp located near Aleppo’s city of al-Bab,” he told Al-Monitor.

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