The windswept Hauran plains lie a few dozen kilometers south of Damascus. These large agricultural plateaus bordering Jordan are known both as Syria's most fertile lands and for being the cradle of the insurrection against Bashar al-Assad. In 2011, in the wake of the uprising in Daraa, the region saw the rise of myriads of armed groups that held out for years against the regime's troops. In 2018, following a massive offensive by the Syrian army backed by the Russian air force, rebel factions finally capitulated one after the other, signing "reconciliation" agreements with the regime under Moscow's patronage, which allowed al-Assad to impose his authority in Southern Syria.

"We signed to keep our autonomy on our land and not leave our region completely in the regime's clutches. We stayed to defend ourselves, not to become his allies," argued Khalid Abou Munzer Al-Daheni, leader of the March 18 Division in Daraa. In early December 2024, taking advantage of the lightning-fast advance of HTS-led troops in the country's north, these factions united under the banner of the Southern Operations Room. After routing the Syrian army in the provinces of Daraa, Suwayda and Quneitra, the rebels marched on Damascus, where they were the first to enter at dawn on December 8.

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