BEIRUT — A group of Syrian rebel groups say they are suspending talks about planned peace negotiations to be held later this month, because of what they describe as ongoing government violations of a four-day old ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey is to be followed by talks between mainstream rebel factions and government representatives in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
But in a statement posted late Monday, 10 rebel factions said they are suspending any talks related to the Astana negotiations or any discussions related to the ceasefire “until it is fully implemented.”
They include the powerful Army of Islam group which operates mainly outside the Syrian capital.
Opposition factions are angered in particular about an ongoing military offensive in the water-rich Barada Valley northwest of Damascus.
“As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce... the freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations,” they said in a joint statement.
The rebels said they “respected the ceasefire across the whole of Syria... but the regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta”, near Damascus, they said.
For the past two weeks, even before the start of a nationwide truce brokered by Ankara and Moscow, Syria’s air force has launched almost daily bombing raids on Wadi Barada, some 15 km (10 miles) from Damascus.
“Any (advance) on the ground goes against the (ceasefire) agreement and if things don’t return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void,” the rebel statement added.
On Monday, the Syrian army backed by air strikes and artillery fire advanced as it battles to capture the area, which is key to the capital’s water supply, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Regime forces and fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group are advancing in the region and are now on the outskirts of Ain Al-Fijeh, the primary water source in the area,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the monitoring group.
Two civilians were shot dead by snipers and two other civilians were killed in regime bombardment of the town of Rastan in central Homs province, the Observatory added.
Government forces have surrounded Wadi Barada since mid-2015, but the siege was tightened in December as the army piled on the pressure.
The United Nations says at least four million people in Damascus have been without water since December 22.
The Observatory said around 1,000 women and children fled the area over the weekend.
The ceasefire deal, and the plan for new talks, received the unanimous backing of the UN Security Council on Saturday, despite offering a competing track to UN-sponsored negotiations.
Turkey and Russia say the talks are intended to supplement, not replace, UN-backed negotiations scheduled to resume in February.
Despite backing opposite sides in Syria’s conflict, Ankara and Moscow have worked closely in recent months on the war, brokering a deal to evacuate civilians and surrendering rebels from Aleppo last month before the regime recaptured the northern city in full.
Turkey launched a military campaign in northern Syria in August 2016, targeting the Daesh group but also Kurdish militants.
The Syrian conflict has also spilled over into Turkey, with several attacks blamed on Kurdish militants or Daesh.
