Syrian rebel group says ceasefire over, talks collapse
BEIRUT - A Syrian rebel group said on Saturday a ceasefire was over in a town and two villages where insurgents have been battling the Syrian army and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Ahmed Qara Ali, spokesman for the Ahrar al-Sham insurgent group, said an alliance of rebel factions had begun to escalate military operations.
The ceasefire had held since Wednesday morning in the town of Zabadani near the Lebanese border and two Shi'ite villages in the northwestern province of Idlib.
Sources on both sides had said talks had been aimed at securing a withdrawal of rebel fighters from Zabadani and a withdrawal of citizens from the two villages.
There was no immediate word from Hezbollah or the Syrian military. Ahrar al-Sham had been leading the negotiations on behalf of the insurgents.
