1st LD: UN delegation, local mediators enter water-rich valley near Damascus to work on agreement

A delegation of the UN and members of the local reconciliation committees entered the contested Barada Valley area northwest of the capital Damascus on Thursday, in an attempt to work on a deal for the evacuation of the rebels from that water-rich region, a military source told Xinhua.

A ceasefire was observed just to allow the delegation to enter and leave the area, the source added, on condition of anonymity.

The delegation entered the rebel-held Barada Valley to work on reaching an agreement for the evacuation of the rebels from that area and the entry of the Syrian army, the source said.

The agreement could also see a solution for the Ain Fijeh spring in a town under the same name, as the spring feeds the capital's over five million people with water.

However, the water has been cut since Dec. 22 due to the battles there, with both conflicting parties trading accusations.

A day earlier, the Syrian army stormed the outskirts of Ain Fijeh town, under cover of heavy rocket fire, in the latest bid to restore that area to resume the water pumping into Damascus, the Syrian military media said.

Opposition activists said intense battles raged on Wednesday between the Syrian government forces backed by Hezbollah and an array of rebel groups in Barada Valley, coupled with tens of airstrikes on that area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian air force targeted the rebel positions in that area with tens of airstrikes.

Both conflicting parties exchanged accusations over the water crisis in Damascus, as the government accused the rebels' al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front of cutting the water deliberately to use it as a weapon to push the government to succumb to their demands, while the rebels blamed the government forces' shelling for the damage that had befallen the spring.

The capital's over five million inhabitants have been struggling to secure their needs of water, with the government using its reserve wells to partially feed Damascus with water.

Meanwhile, a military source told Xinhua that the Nusra militants started setting homes on fire in Ain Fijeh area, as a sort of revenge for the military's resolve to take that area.

This comes as a truce was reached on Jan. 11 in that area for the government to enter and fix the spring, in exchange of allowing ultra-radical groups to evacuate the area to the northwestern province of Idlib.

However, the truce was quick to fall on Jan. 14, as the rebels with Nusra Front fired sniper shots at maintenance workers, who entered the area to fix the spring.

They also shot dead retired Brigadier Ahmad Ghadban, who was tasked by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to supervise the truce and the reconciliation file in Barada. Endit