PHOTO: Rebel fighter overlooks Zabadani, January 2012


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UPDATE 1215 GMT: The leading rebel faction Ahrar al-Sham has issued a statement indicating that it is breaking off talks over the possible evacuation of Zabadani.

Ahrar al-Sham, appointed by residents to lead the talks, said the Hezbollah-regime discussions are being directed by Iran.

The faction called on all groups “to impose a new reality on Iran and its militias”, declaring the Syrian Revolution “the first line against the “imperialist Iranian project”.


ORIGINAL ENTRY: Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and Syria’s rebels are in secret talks for an end to the month-long offensive against Zabadani, northwest of Damascus, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai.

The proposed deal would give rebels safe passage out of Zabadani, held by the opposition since January 2012, in return for the relocation of Assad forces and civilians in two regime enclaves in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

“There is a multi-sided deal being cooked on a slow fire…to set up a very complicated and sensitive exchange operation,” Al-Rai claimed Tuesday, citing a high-ranking source in Hezbollah and the Syrian army’s joint operations room.

The article asserted that hundreds of rebels, including members of Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra, and civilians would be evacuated from Zabadani. Meanwhile, 40,000 civilians and soldiers would leave Fu’ah and Kafraya, the enclaves north of Idlib city which have been isolated as rebels took over almost all of the province.

The newspaper claimed that other rebel-held areas, including Madaya and Barada — both near Zabadani — and the al-Wa’er district of Homs have been included in the discussions. It asserted that, with UN backing, states such as Russia and Qatar are involved in the talks.

Local sources have confirmed to EA that Ahrar al-Sham has been authorized by residents of Zabadani to negotiate with the Hezbollah-regime representatives, but they say the details in Al-Rai are speculative.

The sources add that the “40,000” figure for Fu’ah and Kafraya is the pre-war population. They say only about 4,000 people — the large majority of them Syrian troops — remain in the enclaves.

The Hezbollah-regime offensive began July 3. State media and pro-Assad outlets proclaimed within days that victory was near and have continued to do so; however, rebels have continued to hold out in the center of the town, amid a dense complex of buildings and tunnels.


Report: Tension Between Syrian Army and Kurdish YPG In Hasakah, Days After Islamic State Pushed Out

VICE News reporter Aris Roussinos posts on Twitter about tension in Hasakah between the Syrian Army, the pro-Assad National Defense Forces, and the Kurdish militia YPG, days after the Islamic State was forced out of the city:

The report follows the declaration of the YPG’s General Commander that there was no cooperation between the Syrian military and the Kurds in the defeat of the Islamic State’s six-week offensive.

Touring the city with its mixed Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian population, Roussinos also contrasts the YPG and the NDF:


Video: Rebels Claim Recapture of Territory in Al-Ghab Plain in Hama Province

Rebels have claimed the recapture of territory in the al-Ghab Plain in Hama Province, including the hill of Tam Hamka.

Rebels had moved farther from the Idlib-Hama corridor into al-Ghab in late July, but regime forces fought back last week, taking some towns and hills and moving towards the key town of Frikka on a main east-west highway.

The rebel coalition Jaish al-Fateh claims that it is closing on Joureen, a village linking al-Ghab with Latakia Province (see map). It is also the site of one of the regime’s most important camps, a base for shelling rural Idlib and Hama Provinces.

Rebels at the start of the attack on Tal Hamka:

An anti-tank missile destroys a regime armored vehicle:

Claimed footage of Assad forces fleeing:


Islamic State Renews Attacks West of Palmyra

The Islamic State has renewed its offensive west of Palmyra, the historic town in central Syria which they captured in May.

The militants attacked the southeastern perimeter of the Tiyas (T4) airbase, one of the largest in Syria, beginning with the detonation of a vehicle bomb on a regime checkpoint.

South of the airbase, Islamic State fighters also launched an assault on the town of Qurayteen.

The Islamic State surrounded T4 and other areas between Homs and Palmyra in their spring offensive. Regime forces have tried to counter-attack near Palmyra, but have not been able to get back into the city, famed from the Roman era.