48-hour truce between Syrian army, rebels in 2 flashpoints enters into effect

The Syrian army and armed militants entered into a 48-hour truce reached in two flashpoints in Syria and enforced Wednesday, Lebanese al-Manar TV reported.

The truce, which began at 6.00 am local time (0300 GMT), is designed to usher a simultaneous 48-hour cease-fire in the city of Zabadani, northwest of Damascus, and the besieged Shiite countryside towns of the northwestern province of Idlib, Kafraya and Foa.

The Syrian army backed by the Shiite Lebanese Hezbollah has been on a shattering offensive against Sunni-led jihadi groups in Zabadani, due to its strategic location near Lebanese borders.

In retaliation to the government troops' offensive on Zabadani, several jihadi groups in Idlib mounted an attack against the Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa, adding that they will continue attacking the towns until government troops halt their offensive on Zabadani.

The truce was reached Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said negotiations will continue between Iranian delegations and Hezbollah on one hand, and rebels on the other hand with respect to two main demands: the government should secure buses for Ahrar al-Sham rebels to leave Zabadani, and in return rebels in Idlib will allow entry of food and aid convoys into the besieged Shiite towns.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of on-ground activists, said some rebels inside Zabadani refused to leave the city over information that Iran threatened one of the regional countries supporting the rebels, and if jihadists stormed Kafraya and Foa, they will destroy all surrounding town areas through surface-to-surface missiles from Syrian bases.

The two towns are one of the very few government-controlled areas in Idlib, much of which fell to the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and likeminded groups in recent months.

On the other hand, Zabadani is the last rebel bastion of Nusra and allied militants beside the Lebanese borders.

Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said the truce was adhered to in Zabadani, amidst reports that several mortar shells fell Wednesday in Kafraya and Foa, killing three people.

The four-year-old Syrian conflict has taken a sectarian turn with increasing Sunni jihadists joining the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad's government, who belongs to the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah joined the battles against the insurgency in Syria to keep radical rebels away from Lebanese borders and to protect the Shiite community in Syria, not to mention its main ally: the Syrian administration. Endit