Syrian gov't, rebels agree on ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta

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The Syrian government and opposition delegations on Friday agreed on a ceasefire in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta countryside of the capital Damascus during the Syrian talks in Vienna, according to the Saudi-funded Al Arabiya TV.

Calling it a breakthrough, the report said both delegations agreed on the ceasefire that will go into effect at midnight Saturday, thus ending a two-month escalation between the government forces and rebels in the Eastern Ghouta region.

The agreement came as the Syrian government and the opposition wrapped up the two-day UN-mediated Syrian talks in Vienna.

There is no immediate comment from Damascus about the ceasefire.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura (C) looks on before the start of talks on Syria in Vienna on January 25, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Additionally, both sides agreed on the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged areas and the exchange of detainees.

However, the Syrian opposition will not attend a peace conference that Russia is hosting in Sochi next week, a spokesman for the opposition delegation Yahya al-Aridi said, adding that the Syrian government and its ally Russia had not provided the necessary commitments and the Sochi conference was an attempt to undermine the United Nations’ efforts to broker a peace deal.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the midnight ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta, saying the rebels of Jaish al-Islam, or Islam Army, as well as the Failq al-Rahman, agreed with the Russians on establishing the ceasefire at midnight Saturday.

The London-based watchdog said the Failaq al-Rahman stipulated the entry of relief into the besieged rebel-held areas in Eastern Ghouta within 24 hours following the establishment of the ceasefire.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and Syrian chief negotiator and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of Syria to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari and delegate members are pictured ahead the start of talks on Syria in Vienna on January 25, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The observatory said the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee (LLC) is also covertly included in the deal.

Battles were raging on in Eastern Ghouta over the past two months when the al-Qaida-linked group and allied militants launched attacks on a key Syrian military base in Harasta in Eastern Ghouta.

According to the Observatory, at least 266 civilians were killed over the past month as a result of the exchange of fire inside Damascus and in Eastern Ghouta, where 400,000 are said to be besieged in the rebel-held region.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency