1st LD: Ceasefire negotiations fail in east of Syrian capital

The ceasefire negotiations, which have been taking place to achieve a 15-day truce east of the capital Damascus, have failed, a monitor group reported Thursday.

The Syrian government forces and an array of rebel groups in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus have failed to agree on a ceasefire that could have been a sign of pacification in the capital and its surrounding, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based monitor group, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said both parties were tight-lipped about the steps and the details of the negotiations.

It noted that the reasons behind the faltering negations were not immediately clear.

A day earlier, the Observatory said a ceasefire, mediated by the Russians, could take place between the Syrian troops and the rebels in the eastern countryside of Damascus, adding that the negotiated truce could start as of Thursday.

It added that the ceasefire, if agreed upon, will last for 15 days as a trial period, which could be extended if the initial ceasefire succeeded.

Syria's Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar, while didn't totally deny the claims, said late on Wednesday that talks about a ceasefire in Ghouta "up till this moment are rumors," in what appeared to be a matter under discussion but has not yet been agreed upon.

The legal adviser of the rebels Free Syrian Army, Osama Abu Zaid, also commented on the ceasefire talks, saying on Wednesday the ceasefire will start on Thursday as a gesture of goodwill, where the Russians guarantee that the regime will not shell any area in Eastern Ghouta or target it during 15 days.

Eastern Ghouta is a sprawling terrain, largely agricultural, which was among the first areas to fall to the rebels in the early times of the nearly five-year-old conflict. Rebels in Ghouta are responsible for the blind mortar shelling that target the capital on daily basis. Endit