(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian rebel factions, in statement posted online, said the nationwide ceasefire is 'void and null' as regime forces and allied Hezbollah militia extended their ground and aerial campaign on Wadi Barada valley, northwest the capital.
The 9-day-old ceasefire agreement that brokered by Bashar al-Assad's key ally Russia and Turkey has witnessed numerous violations pushed rebels to suspend talks over the planned Astana peace round on Jan.16, and to quit the truce after almost two weeks of heavy bombing on Wadi Barada, an array of mountainous villages at the Lebanese border.
Airstrikes resumed on Sunday in Wadi Barada, a day after rebels and the regime failed to agree a plan to repair the springs knocked out of service two weeks ago.
The 9-day-old ceasefire agreement that brokered by Bashar al-Assad's key ally Russia and Turkey has witnessed numerous violations pushed rebels to suspend talks over the planned Astana peace round on Jan.16, and to quit the truce after almost two weeks of heavy bombing on Wadi Barada, an array of mountainous villages at the Lebanese border.
Airstrikes resumed on Sunday in Wadi Barada, a day after rebels and the regime failed to agree a plan to repair the springs knocked out of service two weeks ago.
The regime and allied fighters from Hezbollah
launched an offensive to take back Wadi Barada where
springs provided water to four million people in the capital.
The regime says it wants to enter the rugged valley to permanently
secure water supply to the capital. Rebels and local activists say
pro-regime forces are using the water issue to score a political
victory weeks after the fall of Aleppo city, using siege and bombardment
to force fighters into agreeing to leave.
A
military media unit run by the Syrian regime's ally Hezbollah said
Sunday it was suspending a ceasefire in the Wadi Barada area because
rebels were disrupting negotiations and had opened fire on repair teams.
The
Wadi Barada media office, run by local activists connected to the
negotiating team, said it was untrue that any repair team had entered
the valley, saying engineers had waited at the area's border while
negotiations went on.
The
Hezbollah-affiliated media unit also said it was the Syrian Islamist
militia formerly called the Nusra Front which fired on the teams. The
Syrian government has said Nusra Front, now called Jabhat Fateh al-Sham,
and ISIS were excluded from a nationwide ceasefire which came into
force 10 days ago.
The Wadi Barada media office denied the Nusra fighters were present in the valley.
The
United Nations estimates 45,000 people live in the Wadi Barada area,
and thinks at least 7,000 people have been displaced form the area in
recent fighting. (With Reuters)
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