Roundup: Truce collapses with halted negotiations in 2 Syrian flashpoints

A truce in two northwestern Shiite towns and a rebel-held area west of the capital Damascus collapsed Saturday as a result of halted negotiations, a monitor group reported.

Over 200 mortar shells slammed into the Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa in northwestern Syria on Saturday, marking the first attack since a truce went into force between the militants and the government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

After the rebels' shelling on both Shiite towns, the Syrian army renewed shelling against the rebel-held city of Zabadani west of Damascus and near the Lebanese borders.

Zabadani and the Shiite towns have seen a cease-fire that went into effect last Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Syrian army and armed militants entered into truce designed to usher a simultaneous 48-hour cease-fire that was later extended for another 24 hours in the city of Zabadani and the besieged Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa.

Syrian officials and local reports said that Turkey and Iran helped broker the truce in Zabadani, as the Turks voiced the demands of the Ahrar al-Sham rebel movement and the Iranians obviously covered the side of the Syrian government, in unprecedented mediation that reflected a new approach by regional players.

The truce came over two weeks after the Syrian army backed by the Shiite Lebanese Hezbollah mounted a shattering offensive against Sunni-led militant groups, mainly the Ahrar al-Sham Movement, in the city of Zabadani.

In retaliation to the government troops' offensive, several jihadi groups in the northwestern province of Idlib mounted an attack against the Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa, one of the few remaining government strongholds in Idlib.

The rebels in Idlib said they will continue attacking the Shiite towns until government troops halt their offensive on the Sunni-led insurgency in Zabadani, in a sign of how sectarian the Syrian crisis has become.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said that in tandem with the cease-fire, negotiations were taking place between Iranian and Hezbollah delegations on one side and the local militants of Zabdani on the other side.

It added that both parties agreed that the government troops open a way out for the rebels inside Zabadani to withdraw to rebel-held areas in the north and in return the rebels in Idlib will allow the residents of Foa and Kafraya to evacuate their villages and head to Damascus and its countryside.

Both parties were also negotiating the release of 1,000 rebels from government jails, amid a higher demand by the rebels for the release of 20,000 detained rebels and sympathizers with the jihadist groups.

The Observatory said negotiations had stopped between the Iranian delegations and the rebels in Zabadani over the issue of the detainees in government soldiers. According to the report, the rebels apparently stuck with their demand that the government should release 20,000 rebels and sympathizers with the insurgency.

Meanwhile, the local community in Zabadani issued a statement Saturday, urging the Ahrar al-Sham movement to accept the terms of the government due to the tough situation of the civilians there.

It's not yet clear whether the negotiations will kick off again in Zabadani and the Shiite towns but the truce, which was designed to continue in tandem with the negotiations have collapsed. Endit