Channels

Hezbollah and rebels agree to ceasefire at Lebanese-Syrian border

A ceasefire took effect on Thursday in a mountainous area of the Lebanese-Syrian border where Lebanon's Hezbollah says it is on the verge of defeating Nusra Front militants in their last foothold at the frontier.

 

The ceasefire began at 6 am (0300 GMT), halting fighting on all fronts in areas near the Lebanese frontier town of Arsal where Hezbollah launched its assault on Nusra Front jihadists on Friday, a military news service run by Hezbollah reported.

 

A source familiar with negotiations, brokered by a Lebanese internal security agency, said remaining Nusra Front fighters were willing to accept safe passage to Syria's rebel-held Idlib and talks were continuing to agree the route they would take.

 

The news service of Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group, said the ceasefire deal included the release of five of its fighters held by the Sunni Muslim Nusra Front in Syria.

 

The head of Lebanon's main security apparatus said the ceasefire deal would be "completed ... within days."

 

"The militants and those civilians who wish to will depart for Idlib in an organised fashion under the supervision of the Lebanese state," Major General Abbas Ibrahim said, quoted by Lebanon's National News Agency.

 

The Lebanese Red Cross will be involved in the logistics, he said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.27.17, 16:50