DAMASCUS (Zaman Alwasl)- Local sources from the embattled Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, southern Damascus, said vigorous efforts had been made by Syrian regime to reach a cease-fire agreement after number of failed truces last months.
The cease-fire deals come as troops loyal to Bashar Assad are trying to seize as many rebel-held parts of major urban centers as possible ahead of the June 3 presidential elections, according to AP.
Early March 2014, a weeks-old truce has been broken between Nusra Front and Assad’s forces backed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) after firefights and shelling rocked the Yarmouk neighborhood, AFP reported.
Rebels may agree to withdraw because of the poor humanitarian situation, activists said. Two days ago, the regime allowed number of food parcels to be distributed in a preliminary step toward planned ceasefire agreement.
After months of shelling and fierce fighting in and around Yarmouk between rebels and Assad loyalists, the camp’s population has shrunk from more than 150,000 to 40,000. Among them are 18,000 Palestinians, according to AFP.
In relevant development, Rebels and regime forces Friday have agreed to a truce in Waer neighborhood near the central city of Homs, AP reported.
The truce in Waer came as Assad thanked Russia, one of his top backers, for its support on the international scene at a time when "the West is trying to subdue countries that don't accept its hegemony."
Assad is widely expected to win a third, seven-year mandate,
but opposition activists have criticized the vote as being illegitimate because
it is taking place amid a raging civil war. Syria's conflict, which began as an
uprising against Assad's rule, is now in its fourth year and has killed about
162,000 people, activists say.
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