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Syria: Faylaq Al-Rahman Joins Ghouta Truce

A Syrian fighter from Faylaq al-Rahman fires a weapon in Ain Terma, in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold east of the capital Damascus, July 17, 2017. AFP/ABDULMONAM EASSA
A Syrian fighter from Faylaq al-Rahman fires a weapon in Ain Terma, in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold east of the capital Damascus, July 17, 2017. AFP/ABDULMONAM EASSA
    Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Syria: Faylaq Al-Rahman Joins Ghouta Truce

A Syrian fighter from Faylaq al-Rahman fires a weapon in Ain Terma, in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold east of the capital Damascus, July 17, 2017. AFP/ABDULMONAM EASSA
A Syrian fighter from Faylaq al-Rahman fires a weapon in Ain Terma, in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold east of the capital Damascus, July 17, 2017. AFP/ABDULMONAM EASSA

Beirut- Faylaq Al-Rahman accepted on Friday to join the de-escalation agreement in the eastern suburbs of Damascus after signing a deal with Russia to halt hostilities as of 9 pm and to lift the siege of eastern Ghouta.

“Following three days of negotiations with the Russian side, an agreement was signed to stop fighting as of 18/8/2017 at 21:00 Damascus time,” the group, one of the largest factions operating under the Free Army in Jobar and Ghouta, said in a statement.

It said the ceasefire deal includes lifting the siege of eastern Ghouta

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Friday signing a deal with Faylaq al-Rahman in the de-escalation zone of eastern Ghouta province.

A statement issued by the ministry said the deal was signed in Geneva, adding that the opposition group would refrain from launching attacks against diplomatic missions in Damascus, including the Russian embassy.  

The de-escalation zone in Eastern Ghouta is one of four zones of a plan approved in May by Russia, Turkey and Iran to stipulate a cessation of hostilities over designated areas.

Details of the de-escalation agreement would be announced in a press conference scheduled for next Monday.

“We promise the Syrian people to protect the principles of the Revolution in all our political works and military confrontations, until we see a free and dignified Syria,” the Faylaq said in the statement.

Separately, regime forces controlled on Friday four new gas fields and tightened the grip on ISIS militants in the center of the eastern desert.

As a response, ISIS militants launched a counter-attack while battles raged between the two sides on Friday night at the crossing of Maksar al-Hissan and Jab al-Jarah in the countryside of eastern Homs, leaving a number of casualties on both sides.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.