Syria rebels guardedly agree on truce but battles persist
Government troops and insurgents fought in several parts of Syria on September 11, apparently seeking to strengthen their positions on the eve of a ceasefire that Free Syrian Army rebels said they would observe but with major reservations.
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| A rebel fighter looks through binoculars in Quneitra countryside, Syria September 10, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir |
The Free Syrian Army groups wrote to the United States on September 11 about the deal it agreed on with Russia, saying that while they would "cooperate positively" with the ceasefire, they were concerned it would benefit the government.
Although the letter did not explicitly say the groups would abide by the ceasefire, two rebels who confirmed its text to Reuters said they would respect the ceasefire when it comes into force on September 12 evening.
But according to the letter, the groups are worried by the absence of enforcement mechanisms, a lack of provision for besieged areas and clauses letting army jets fly for up to nine days after the deal comes into effect.
The influential hardline Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham issued a statement late on September 11 attacking the ceasefire deal, but stopping short of explicitly saying it would not abide by its terms.
A war monitor reported clashes around Aleppo and Damascus, but pushes by the government in the mountainous northwest and rebels in the southwest indicated an effort to improve their positions before fighting is due to stop on Monday.
Syria's five-year civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 11 million - half the country's prewar population - causing a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe and inspiring jihadist attacks around the world.
Underscoring the war's global impact, President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia's air force, Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Shi'ite militias from Iraq and Lebanon, while the rebels are supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf Arab states.
Previous peace agreements crumbled within weeks, with the United States accusing Assad and his allies of attacking opposition groups and civilians. On September 10, air strikes on rebel-held areas killed scores of people.
"A big part of the agreement serves the regime and doesn't apply pressure on it and doesn't serve the Syrian people," said Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim.
Syria's government has not issued an official comment on the truce, but Syrian state media on September 10 quoted what it called private sources as saying the government had given its approval. Iran welcomed the deal on September 11.
