Syria demands written guarantee for troop pullback

Syria said on Sunday it wants "written guarantees" that insurgents will stop fighting before it implements a troop pullback agreed by President Bashar al-Assad, putting the likelihood of an imminent truce into doubt.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said in a statement earlier reports that Damascus "confirmed that it will pull back its troops from and around cities on April 10 is a wrong explanation." (Reuters)