Syria army announces halt in fighting in parts of Ghouta
DAMASCUS: Syria’s army announced Saturday a halt in fighting in parts of Eastern Ghouta after fighters and Russia agreed on how a safe zone will function for the besieged opposition enclave.
The army “announces a halt in fighting in some areas of Eastern Ghouta in Damascus province from midday on Saturday,” it said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.
“The army will retaliate in a suitable manner to any violation” of the cease-fire, the statement said, without specifying what areas were included.
Russia said earlier Saturday it had signed a deal with “moderate” Syrian fighters at peace talks in Cairo on how a safe zone would function in the region.
Eastern Ghouta is in one of four proposed “de-escalation zones” designated in an agreement reached by government allies Iran and Russia and fighter backer Turkey in May.
But the deal has yet to be fully implemented over disagreements on the monitoring mechanism for the safe zones.
The most recent talks in Kazakhstan this month between Russia, Turkey and Iran failed to iron out the details of the four safe zones.
Russia said the sides have now signed agreements under which “the borders of the de-escalation zone are defined as well as the deployment locations and powers of the forces monitoring the deescalation.”
It said the sides had also agreed “routes to supply humanitarian aid to the population and for free movement of residents.”
Russia said it plans to send in the first humanitarian convoy and evacuate the wounded “in the next few days.”
The Eastern Ghouta region, a key fighter stronghold near the capital, has been the frequent target of government military operations.
Syrian activists said on Saturday the fighter-held northwestern province of Idlib is calm after two main militant groups agreed to end days of fighting that killed scores.
The fighting between the Ahrar Al-Sham and Al-Qaeda-linked Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham broke out on Tuesday in several areas and focused on the Bab Al-Hawa crossing at the border with Turkey.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that calm has prevailed in Idlib since sunset Friday. It added that four days of fighting left 92 dead, including 15 civilians.
The two groups had issued statements saying a cease-fire agreement has been reached and both sides will free detainees.
They said Bab Al-Hawa will be run by civilian administration.
More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since its conflict broke out in March 2011 with anti-government protests.