Daraa, one of the major Syrian cities engulfed in violence, is near Jordan.

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State TV said military forces conducted operations around Damascus and in the provinces of Hassaka, Daraa, and Idlib and Aleppo.

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To date, only four of Syria's 14 governorates constitute the major hubs of the protest movement: Homs, Hama, Idlib and Daraa.

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Hundreds of refugees from across Syria - from Daraa, Homs, Hama and other cities - are now in the relatively safety of Lebanon.

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Observers were in the Daraa province town of Harak on Thursday.

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They said they were going back to fight in Daraa, Syria.

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The observers are in Homs, Hama, Daraa, Idlib and Damascus.

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Mahameed's hometown of Daraa was just across the border.

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Robert Mood, head of the mission, said 50 observers were in the country, "deployed in the provinces of Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Idleb and Daraa, " the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said.

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Louai Miqdad, the spokesman for the rebel army, said al-Sharaa left Damascus more than a week ago and fled to Daraa to try to make sure his relatives, close proteges and other officials would be secure.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Officials from the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation plan to go on a mission led by the Syrian government to the provinces of Homs, Hama, Tartous, Latakia, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Rif Damashq and Daraa to assess humanitarian needs.

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Analysts long have said that there could be a turning point in Syria if the unrest that has raged in major provincial cities such as Homs, Hama, Daraa, and Deir Ezzor were to spread to the larger cities of Damascus and Aleppo.

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An ICRC delegation visited Daraa.

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"This is a matter of utmost urgency for the United Nations and all efforts are in place to make sure that we get the people on the ground as quickly as possible ... apart from Damascus, we have permanently based observers in Homs, Hama, Daraa and Idlib, so this process will continue, " said Neeraj Singh, the observer team's spokesman, on Sunday.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS