Damascus water: Ceasefire agreed for Wadi Barada, government says

The area is the source of water supplies for the whole of Damascus, which has been without clean drinking water since 22 December

A still image taken from a video obtained by Reuters, said to be shot on January 4, 2017, shows civilians, who were evacuated from Wadi Barada, sitting inside a shelter in the Damascus suburb of Rawda (Reuters)

 

Friday 6 January 2017

A still image taken from a video obtained by Reuters, said to be shot on January 4, 2017, shows civilians, who were evacuated from Wadi Barada, sitting inside a shelter in the Damascus suburb of Rawda (Reuters)

Government media on Friday reported that a ceasefire agreement has been reached between pro-Assad forces and rebels in the opposition-held region of Wadi Barada, just west of the capital Damascus.

A military news site run by government ally Hezbollah said the ceasefire was agreed for "a number of hours" and included all the factions in the area.

However, senior rebel sources denied reports of a ceasefire, telling Reuters no such deal had been reached.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group, is one of the groups involved in an assault on Wadi Barada.

The area has been the subject of intense controversy this week, with the government accusing rebels of contaminating a water supply in Wadi Barada that feeds the whole of Damascus.

Residents of Damascus have been left without clean drinking water since 22 December in what the UN has warned could constitute a war crime. 

Despite a nationwide truce that came into effect late last month, the Syrian army launched a large-scale offensive this week aimed at retaking Wadi Barada.

On Friday morning government aircraft reportedly dropped 10 barrel bombs in the area. 

East of the capital, clashes broke out in the Marj district. Three people were killed, one of them a child.

In Damascus, there were a number of casualties from rebel rocket fire.