War in Syria: Syrian government reports ceasefire with rebels in the south

Syrian government reports cease-fire with rebels in the south

20:33: After weeks of fierce fighting in southern Syria, the Syrian government announced an immediate cease-fire with the rebels. The two sides had agreed on a similar deal, reported Friday the official Syrian news agency Sana. The agreement states that the insurgents "deliver their heavy and medium weapons in all towns and villages," the report says.

The fighters who disagree should have said that their families lived in southern Syria. leave and be taken to the Idlib rebel stronghold in the north. In the past three weeks, a major military offensive had worsened the rebels in southern Syria more and more.

The agreement was reached in negotiations between the Syrian government, its ally, Russia and the rebels. The rebels had already delivered the Syrian-Jordanian Nbadib border post to government officials without a fight, as reported by the rebels and the public media in the afternoon.

The Syrian army is leading a major offensive against rebels in the south of the country since June 19. Country before. According to UN figures, up to 330,000 people have since been put to flight.

The reconquest of the southern province of Daraa would be an important and symbolic victory for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The demonstrations against Assad began in March 2011 in the country's rural province. They have turned into a national conflict that has claimed more than 350,000 lives since then.

OPCW: possibly the chlorine gas used in an attack on the Syrian Duma

Friday, July 6, 19:56: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW) has no evidence of the use of sargins in this attack The Syrian city of Duma was discovered in April, but the chlorine gas could have been used. Nerve fuels have not been detected, in addition to explosive residues, but "various chlorinated organic chemicals," said the OPCW Friday in an interim report. The investigation therefore continues.

A team of investigators collected more than 100 samples from seven Duma sites. "The team's work to determine the significance of these results continues," said the OPCW. The inspectors had access to the city only two weeks after the attack.

On April 7, during an attack in the city of Douma in east Ghuta, rescuers killed 40 people; they blamed the government of the leader Bashar al-Assad. Western states have accused Damascus of using chlorine gas and sarin. Russia, which is on Assad 's side in the conflict, denied that chemicals were used in the attack.

In response, the United States, Britain and France attacked targets in Syria from the air. Russia, which militarily supported Syria in the conflict in the country, and Syrian leaders denied that chemicals had been used in the Duma. The OPCW has now refuted this badertion.

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