DHAKA: A truce between Syrian rebels and regime troops fighting in the northern Damascus district of Barzeh has been agreed on Sunday, activists said.

‘After intense negotiation in recent days between the regime and the (rebel) Free Syrian Army through mediators from the neighbourhood, the following agreement has been reached: ceasefire between the two sides,’ a statement posted by the opposition local council said, Al Arabiya publishes this report on Monday.

The truce comes after nearly a year of fighting and bombardment in the area and both sides also agreed on ‘the withdrawal of (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad’s army from all of Barzeh, and the cleaning of the streets (of abandoned corpses), in preparation for the road to be opened’ by the rebels, the statement said.

‘The Free Syrian Army will be the one manning traffic’ through the district, which has been blocked off ever since the opposition took over the neighbourhood, the statement added.

Much of Barzeh has been destroyed in the fighting and near-daily bombardment by the army since it became an all-out war zone in March last year.

An activist told media that although the agreed clauses have not yet been implemented, ‘the intensity of the fighting has been reduced greatly in the past three days’.

BDST: 1942 HRS, JAN 06, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor