Syrian crisis set to wind down in 2019 amid US forces exit

DAMASCUS - The year 2018 has witnessed a series of key events in war-torn Syria, which led to recent indications that the country is on track to restore relations with its Arab neighbors as the war looks set to wind down in 2019, especially after the United States decided in December to withdraw all its troops from Syria.

Military victories in succession

With the help of its Russian ally and the pro-government forces, the Syrian army has achieved a succession of military victories that further consolidated its grip in the country.

In May, the army secured the entire vicinity of the capital Damascus, capturing the sprawling Eastern Ghouta countryside which was the main bastion of the rebels in eastern Damascus and an immense threat to the capital.

Later in the month, the army defeated the Islamic State militants in southern Damascus, mainly in the Yarmouk Camp area, further expanding the safety ring around the capital.

Also in May, the last batch of rebels left the Syrian central city of Homs, a hub city that connects southern areas, including the capital, with northern areas and has oil and gas fields in its countryside.

In July, the army secured Quneitra Province in southern Syria near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a month before it stripped the rebels of the birthplace of the Syrian war: Daraa Province near the Jordanian border.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government secured the entire borderline with Jordan, and officially re-opened the Nasib Border Crossing, one of the most important land crossings in the region which allows the flow of goods from Lebanon to Jordan and further to the Gulf states.

In addition, large swathes of territories on the Syrian-Iraqi border were also recaptured by the Syrian army.

With the military victories by the government, the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan have also started returning over the past few months to their villages and towns retaken by the army.