Siege of Daraa

Siege of Daraa
Part of the Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War
Date25 April – 5 May 2011
(1 week and 3 days)
Location
Daraa, Syria
Result Protests suppressed
Belligerents

Syrian opposition

  • Opposition protesters
  • Defecting soldiers

Syrian Arab Republic

Commanders and leaders
Unknown Gen. Maher al-Assad
Gen. Mohsin Makhlouf
Gen. Ahmed Yousef Jarad
Gen. Ramadan Ramadan
Col. Suheil al-Hassan[1]
Strength
Unknown 4th Division (42nd brigade)
5th Division (12th, 15th, 112th, 132nd brig, 175th reg)
Special forces (35th, 41st regiment)[1]
Casualties and losses
50[2]–220[3] protesters killed and 600[4]–1,000[5] arrested, 81 defected soldiers killed[6] 25 killed, 177 wounded[7]

The siege of Daraa occurred within the context of the 2011 Arab Spring protests in Syria, in which Daraa was the center of unrest. On 25 April 2011, the Syrian Army began a ten-day siege of the city, an operation that helped escalate the uprising into an armed rebellion and subsequent civil war.

The Syrian Army's siege involved tanks, helicopters, and up to 6,000 troops. More than 1,000 people were arrested[5] and more than 244 people were killed, many of them children.[6]

  1. ^ a b ""By All Means Necessary!" - Human Rights Watch". Human Rights Watch. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ^ Syrian troops start withdrawal from Daraa, Ynetnews.com, 5 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Civilian killings in Syrian demonstrations rises to 800". The Jerusalem Post. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Five dead in 'Day of Defiance'". Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Syria: Raid in Damascus suburb as crackdown defied". BBC News. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Syria protests: Rights group warns of 'Deraa massacre'". BBC News. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Syria troops crack down again". Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2011.