DAMASCUS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Over 28,000 people have returned to their homes in the southern province of Daraa over the past 24 hours, after the rebels and the Syrian army halted the military operations under a Russian-backed deal, a monitor group reported on Saturday.
The people returned homes in the southeastern towns of Daraa after they fled the military showdown that has been dragging on since June 19.
The return of people is ongoing in light of the deal that was reached between the Russians, who are representing the government, and representatives of the militant groups in Daraa.
The United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) recently said the total number of the displaced people in Daraa reached more than 320,000, with 60,000 gathered at the border crossing with Jordan.
Earlier in the day, a Syrian officer told Xinhua that the army fully secured the Nasib border crossing between Syria and Jordan, following a two-week-long offensive in Daraa province in southern Syria.
A day after capturing the crossing from the rebels, the Syrian forces on Saturday deployed on its surrounding after dismantling bombs left by the rebels.
The Syrian army reached and captured the crossing after capturing almost all areas in the eastern countryside of Daraa during the two-week-long battles with the rebels, including ultra-radical ones such as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
Nasib crossing is the only official border point between Syria and Jordan. The rebels captured this crossing in 2015 after battles with the Syrian government forces.
The Jordanian side closed off the crossing in the same year when it fell to the rebels.
Capturing the crossing is considered as a major victory for the Syrian army in its quest to capture all border points with Jordan.
A Syrian officer told Xinhua during a visit to Daraa Saturday that the Syrian army secured the borderline with Jordan after cutting all supply routes for the rebels in nearby towns.
"The Syrian troops have deployed along the borderline with Jordan from the town of Busra al-Sham to Nasib crossing," he said.
He added that "the entire border with Jordan has been secured completely from Nasib in the southeast of Daraa until the desert region of the nearby Sweida province."
The military offensive in Daraa was moving in tandem with the reconciliation offers to the rebels who want to surrender their weapons and reconcile with the government.
A day earlier, state news agency SANA said a deal was reached between the Syrian army and the rebels to settle the situation in Daraa, where battles have been ongoing since June 19.
The deal, which is mediated by Russia, will start with a cease-fire and the rebels in Daraa will hand over their heavy and medium weapons to the Syrian army, said SANA.
The rebels who support the deal and want to stay in their towns can stay, while the rejectors can leave Daraa toward rebel-held areas in Idlib province in northwestern Syria.
The deal will see the Syrian government restoring control over all border posts across the Syrian-Jordan border, as the government institutions will return to operate in Daraa, according to SANA.
The people who left their towns and cities in Daraa will return to their homes, according to the deal.
Daraa has a symbolic significance as it was the birthplace of the Syrian war that erupted in 2011, and securing it will be a big victory for the Syrian army both symbolically and militarily as the rebels have used the Jordanian border to bring in arms and fighters throughout the war.
