Truce in Barzeh district enters into force, life comes back

Al Salam Mosque in the northern Damascus district of Barzeh opened its doors and people started to hear Athan after 11 months of siege since the truce between rebels and Assad regime entered into force this week.

Rebels of Barzeh have agreed a local ceasefire with the regime after nearly a year of fighting and bombardment, activists said.

The opposition local council said that after negotiations through mediators from the neighbourhood, the regime and the Free Syrian Army had agreed "the withdrawal of 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 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.

Local activist Abu Ammar told AFP via the Internet that although the agreed clauses have not yet been implemented, "the intensity of the fighting has been reduced greatly in the past three days."

The truce also envisages that residents who had fled the district will be able to return within two weeks, and that "services will be restored". (With Agencies)