Syrian rebels trade truces for end to blockade of civilian aid

BEIRUT — In one besieged neighborhood after another, weary rebels have turned over their weapons to the Syrian government in exchange for an easing of suffocating blockades that have prevented food, medicine and other staples from reaching civilians trapped inside.

The local cease-fires struck in at least four neighborhoods in and around the Syrian capital in recent weeks have brought an end to the shelling and most of the fighting in the affected areas. While deep distrust lingers on both sides, in some neighborhoods the lull has prompted residents displaced by earlier violence to return.

The government touts the truces as part of its program of “national reconciliation” to end Syria’s crisis, which has killed more than 140,000 people since March 2011. But activists and rebels describe the deals as the final stage of a ruthless tactic President Bashar Assad’s government has employed to devastating effect: shelling and starving fighters and civilians alike in opposition-held areas into submission.

With two rounds of United Nations-brokered peace talks with the political opposition in exile failing to make any substantial progress, and neither side able to clinch a military victory, Assad may be counting on such local truces to pacify flashpoint areas around the capital.

The deals carry two additional benefits for Assad: They free up troops in his overstretched military to be shifted to fighting fronts elsewhere in the country, and they allow the government to present itself abroad as a responsible actor actively trying to broker peace at home.

“It’s important for the regime to have reconciliation,” said an activist in Damascus who goes by the name of Abu Akram. “They want us to submit or be hungry. They want to free up their troops for other battles.”

The exact terms have varied depending on the balance of power in each area, but the truces generally have followed a basic formula: The rebels relinquish their heavy weapons and observe a cease-fire in exchange for the government to allow aid into the communities.

In many cases, gunmen also have had to hand themselves over to authorities. Some have returned from government custody and others have not, activists say.

“Part of the regime strategy, virtually since the beginning of the armed struggle, has been to separate the people from the rebels. To try to break the connection between the rebels and their popular support base,” said Jeffrey White, a defense fellow at The Washington Institute.

The authorities have relied on individuals with good government ties from the respective communities to act as middlemen and shuffle between the sides to broker the agreements.

The first major deal was struck in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh, where residents raised the twostarred government flag over the city in late December. The latest truce took hold last week in the capital’s Babila neighborhood.