Syria ceasefire collapses

The army and Islamist rebels exchanged artillery fire Saturday near Damascus after talks between them broke down, militant leaders and a monitor said.

A rare negotiated ceasefire in the northern rebel-held town of Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon, as well as in Fouaa and Kafraya, two Alawite villages in Idlib province, had been reached with Iranian and Turkish mediation.

But Ahrar al-Sham, the main Islamist rebel group involved in the negotiations, announced Saturday the negotiations had collapsed over the numbers of prisoners to be released by the army and demands that residents evacuate the rebel-held border town of Zabadani.

"The civilians have refused the demand to leave their area," Abu al-Fadel, a jihadist fighter, told the dpa news agency by phone.

In a written statement, the group blamed the Iranian delegation - which was negotiating on behalf of the Syrian government - of trying to uproot populations to change the balance of power.

"The reason for the failure of the negotiations was the focus of the other side on demographic changes and its lack of concern for the humanitarian conditions of the civilians," Ahrar al-Sham spokesman Ahmed Qara Ali said in a written statement sent to Reuters.

Syrian government forces and Hezbollah fighters have been besieging an estimated 4,000 rebels in the strategic town since early July. And the government was concerned that Islamist fighters in Idlib province would overrun the villages of Fouaa and Kafraya - home to Alawite minorities largely loyal to President Bashar Assad. This had led to ceasefire agreement on Wednesday.

But now that talks have collapsed, the different sides have resumed shelling.

Onslaught resumes from all sides

Syrian television reported that shells had landed in Fouaa and Kafraya. At least one person was killed and 12 wounded in the barrage, the state broadcaster said.

"Today we've been hearing the sound of explosions since dawn," a resident in the village of Fouaa told the AFP news agency. "The truce failed and the attacks have resumed."

Meanwhile, Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, citing its own sources, said the truce was over and rebel positions near Zabadani were being shelled.

Activists in Zabadani on Saturday reported hearing explosions on the outskirts of the mountain town, shattering the truce that had begun earlier this week.

Talks continue amid shelling

Despite the resumption of hostilities, there was some indication that the various sides are still talking.

"The talks are ongoing, but there are breaches in the ceasefire," said Abdel Rahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing sources close to the talks. "It's not clear if the breaches are attempts by the parties to improve the conditions of the deal or come from those who want to thwart the negotiations."

jar/sgb (dpa, AP, AFP, Reuters)