DARAA, Syria, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Upon reaching the Nasib border crossing between Syria and Jordan, the rebels' red-white-black flag with three red stars in the middle used to seen painted on every roadblock and almost all walls.
But the rebels' flags seem to have started fading away as the rebels are no longer there, and the Nasib crossing, the only official border crossing between Syria and Jordan, is back under the government's control.
The Syrian army reached Nasib crossing on Friday for the first time after losing it to the rebels in 2015.
The offices of the Syrian border control and customs were largely damaged. The rebels' commanders had used the buildings as bases and offices, particularly as Jordan has closed its side of the border since 2015.
A big street sign written before the war reads "Welcome to the Syrian Arab Republic."
During a trip to the crossing on Saturday, Xinhua reporters saw Syrian soldiers manning checkpoints and posts in Nasib. Since they have been there for a short time only, the rebels' flags have not been erased or removed yet, but the soldiers raised Syrian flags over some parts of the crossing on top of the rebels' one.
At the first gate of the crossing, a big poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was seen put above the rebels' flag, as if the soldiers were declaring victory.
On another wall, Syrian soldiers put a military boot over the rebels' flag, another message that the army has defeated the militants.
Other than the war of flags at the crossing, soldiers there seemed happy and relaxed, as the progress made in Daraa is of great importance to the Syrian government.
Daraa was the birthplace of the Syrian war, from which the crisis spread nationwide.
Russian soldiers were also seen at the crossing, as Moscow was the driving force behind the progress in Daraa, both militarily and politically.
A Syrian officer, who was among the troops that fought their way to the crossing, told Xinhua at the crossing Saturday that the army fully secured Nasib after defeating the rebels in nearby villages.
"The entire borderline with Jordan has been secured completely from Nasib in the southeast of Daraa to the desert region of the nearby Sweida province," he said.
The crossing on Saturday seemed like a battlefield, as the last battles were raging nearby and the last vehicle of the rebels was destroyed by the army at the crossing before capturing it completely on Friday.
Rubbles and debris were seen on the ground and the buildings were largely damaged.
Xinhua reporters at the scene heard two explosions that rocked the vicinity, which reportedly could be the explosions of mines.
No customs or border control officers have been there yet. Journalists stepped out of the Syrian borderline and stood in the no man's land, a small stretch of land between both crossings.
Only 100 meters away, a sign reading "Welcome to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan" was seen and right next to it were Jordanian soldiers and a tank.
The Jordanian borders have been closed since 2015, and a Syrian military officer said the decision to reopen the crossing is a political one between both countries.
Ahead of the crisis, the crossing was the busiest border crossing in Syria as it is situated on the Damascus-Amman international highway near Nasib.
The Nasib crossing is also considered as one of the most important land crossings in the Middle East as it was the main crossing for Syrian exports to Jordan and the Gulf countries.
The crossing is important for Jordan now that the country is suffering from economic obstacles, which led to the eruption of protests in June, leading to the government's sacking.
When Jordan closed the crossing after 2015, the Hashemite kingdom has suffered from losses as 70 percent of the country's exports and imports were through Syria, according to Nabil Ruman, head of the investor's board of the Jordanian Free Zone.
Reports also said that the losses of the Jordanian transportation sector as a result of the border closure is estimated at around half a billion U.S. dollars.
So now after the Nasib crossing is back under the government's control, expectations are high that both governments could work to reopen it on both sides despite the fact that the Syrian government blames Amman for supporting the ultra-radical rebels in Daraa during the seven-year-long war in Syria.
But, in general, the situation in Daraa and in other areas in southern Syria is seemingly leaning toward negotiations and deals, as Russia has successfully mediated an agreement to settle the situation in Daraa after two weeks of battles that enabled the army to capture Nasib.
A day earlier, state news agency SANA said the Russian-backed 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 starts with a ceasefire 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 ones who refused to reconcile 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-Jordanian 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.
On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said over 28,000 people returned to their homes in the southeastern countryside of Daraa over the past 24 hours, after fleeing recently due to the military showdown.
The United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said recently that the total number of the displaced people in Daraa reached more than 320,000, with 60,000 gathered at the border crossing with Jordan.
