Islamist groups and pro-regime forces agreed late on a 48-hour ceasefire in flashpoint towns in northwest Syria and along the border with Lebanon, a monitoring group said.
Advertisement
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrived in Damascus Wednesday and headed straight for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The cease-fire silenced the guns in the town of Zabadani and two northern Shiite villages, Foua and Kfarya, according to the Hezbollah’s TV channel Al-Manar and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The sources told The Daily Star the truce in Zabadani, Kafriya and Foua went into effect at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The two areas are strongholds of each side under ferocious attack by the other. A nearby military air base remains under government control.
Sources on both sides say negotiations are underway about a possible evacuation of civilians from the two villages, and a withdrawal of rebel fighters from Zabadani.
People “who are in critical condition will be evacuated”, a source close to the Syrian government told Reuters news agency.
In the airstrike on the city of Idlib, the Observatory said seven people were killed, while the Local Coordination Committees, another group that documents Syria’s war casualties, said at least 10 civilians were killed in the bombing. It said some fighters are refusing to leave Zabadani. The evacuation of the critically wounded had been agreed but logistics were still being worked out.
Ahrar Al Sham said at that time those talks were halted due to the Iranian delegation’s “determination to empty Zabadani of civilians and fighters and displace them to another areas”.
Iran’s diplomacy in Syria follows its landmark deal last month with the U.S. and five other Western powers to limit its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions by the U.S., the United Nations and the European Union.
Turkey, a major regional power and opponent of Assad that until now had avoided a direct role in the war, has revamped its strategy in recent weeks to join a campaign against Islamic State.
Advertisement
“Tadamun was authorised to negotiate with the government to reach a new agreement”, Abu Qassem said. But he showed no sign of a willingness compromise in a speech last month.
