Syria rebels, pro-regime forces agree 48-hour truce in flashpoint towns

A simultaneous ceasefire would begin in the regime-held villages of Fuaa and Kafraya, in northwest Idlib province.

 

“There has been an agreement for a 48-hour ceasefire in Zabadani and Fuaa and Kafraya,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

 

“The deal is between fighters from (powerful Islamist faction) Ahrar al-Sham and local rebels on one side, and Iran and Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah on the other,” said Abdel Rahman.

 

Hezbollah and Iran are key military backers of the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Together with regime forces, Hezbollah launched a fierce offensive last month to clear Zabadani of rebel groups.

 

While the ceasefire has been agreed upon, Abdel Rahman told AFP negotiations were ongoing regarding the withdrawal of all rebel fighters from Zabadani, as well as a halt to the siege of Fuaa and Kafraya.

 

Besieged by a rebel coalition including Ahrar al-Sham, their residents are mostly from the minority Shiite Muslim sect, of which the Alawite sect — to which the Assad clan belongs — is an offshoot.

 

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