Shells hit south Syria city for first time in three years

BEIRUT: Rebel shellfire slammed into the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Tuesday for the first time in three years, a monitor said, as fresh regime reinforcements arrived in the area.

The government holds most of Sweida province, but rebels still control much of the nearby Daraa and Quneitra governorates. On Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said opposition forces fired shells into Sweida city, "which led to loud blasts but no casualties".

"It is the first time since 2015 that the city has been subjected to shellfire," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman. State news agency Sana also blamed rebels "spread out in the towns and villages in eastern parts of Daraa province" for firing shells on Sweida.

It also said one girl was killed and two people were wounded in opposition fire on government-held parts of Daraa city. Sweida, whose residents are mostly from the Druze minority, has remained relatively insulated from seven years of war that ravaged the rest of the country.

But rebels hold a sliver of territory in western Sweida that borders their main bastion in the province of Daraa, and clashes and exchanges of fire have erupted in that area in recent days. Syria’s government has set its sights on ousting rebels from the south and has been dispatching troops and equipment there for weeks. Rebel commander Abu Hassan told AFP on Tuesday his units had seen the reinforcements and were on high alert.