Truce on Syrian frontline
48-hour ceasefire declared after intervention by Turkey and Iran
SYRIA’S warring parties have declared a 48-hour ceasefire in two frontline areas after unprecedented mediation from Turkey and Iran, signalling a new approach by some of the main regional backers of the opposing sides.
The ceasefire halted fighting between insurgents on the one hand, and the army and its Lebanese militant Hezbollah allies on the other, in the rebel-held town of Zabadani and in a pair of Shi’ite Muslim villages in Idlib province.
The two areas are strongholds of each side under ferocious attack by the other. Sources familiar with the talks, which have been under way for weeks, said the truce could be extended to give time for ongoing negotiations aimed at evacuating civilians and combatants.
Three officials close to Damascus described the truce as a result of mediation by Turkey, which backs rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, and Iran, whose support has been vital to his survival.
It adds to recent signs of new efforts in the region to end diplomatic deadlock over a conflict that has killed a quarter of a million people, made 10 million homeless, left swathes of Syria in the hands of Islamic State (IS) militants and divided the countries of the Middle East on sectarian grounds.
After four years in which diplomats made no headway towards peace, countries that support Assad and his opponents have been quietly discussing ways to end the war and tackle the common threat from IS. But Assad’s fate remains a major obstacle to the new diplomatic effort.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Damascus yesterday and met with Assad. He was expected to discuss a new peace plan for Syria.
Before he ar r ived, rebels bombarded the capital with rockets and the government launched air strikes on nearby rebel positions. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said 13 people were killed by rebel rockets and 31 killed in the government air strikes.
Sources on both sides of the civil war said the ceasefire began in the early hours of yesterday.
Hezbollah said IS gunmen had opened fire in Zabadani in an attempt to break the ceasefire but other insurgent groups had intervened to stop them.
Zabadani, about 30 miles north- west of the capital Damascus and a few miles from the border with Lebanon, has been the focus of a weeks-long offensive by the army and Hezbollah aimed at wresting control of the town from rebels.
While years of diplomacy have so far made no progress towards ending the war, there are signs of a new push in recent weeks following Iran’s nuclear deal last month with major powers including both the US and Russia.
Turkey, a major regional power and opponent of Assad, is revamping its strategy towards the Syria war. It is pressing for a buffer zone in Syria near its frontier, free of IS fighters and controlled by opponents of Assad.
The Iranian nuclear talks saw the first direct, top level diplomacy between Iran and Washington since Iranian revolutionaries stormed the US embassy in Tehran in 1979.