BEIRUT — Syria's warring parties declared a 48-hour ceasefire in a frontline area on Wednesday after a month of unprecedented mediation from Turkey and Iran, signalling a new approach by some regional powers backing opposing sides in the conflict. The ceasefire halted fighting between insurgents on the one hand, and the army and its Lebanese militant Hezbollah allies on the other, in the rebel-held town of Zabadani and in a pair of Shiite villages in Idlib province. The areas are strongholds of each side under ferocious attack by the other, meaning both could benefit from a ceasefire by evacuating civilians or combatants. Three officials close to Damascus described the truce as a result of mediation by Turkey, which backs rebels fighting against President Bashar Al-Assad, and Iran, whose support has been vital to his survival. It was among the strongest signs yet of a new regional approach toward a conflict that has killed a quarter of a million people, made 10 million homeless, left swathes of Syria in the hands of Daesh (the so-called IS) militants and divided the countries of the Middle East on sectarian grounds. After four years in which international diplomacy made no headway toward peace, countries that support Assad and his opponents have been quietly discussing ways to end the war and tackle the common threat from Daesh. But Assad's fate remains a major obstacle to the new diplomatic effort. The Iranian foreign minister was due in Damascus later on Wednesday and expected to discuss a new peace plan for Syria. Sources on both sides of the civil war told Reuters earlier in the day the truce was to begin at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), and negotiations would continue. The rebel group Ahrar Al-Sham had led the talks on the insurgents' side. “A ceasefire began at 6 a.m. today for 48 hours to halt military operations in Zabadani,” Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported. “It also includes the two villages of Al-Foua and Kefraya in the Idlib countryside.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that reports on the war, said no fighting had been reported in Zabadani, Kefraya or Al-Foua after the ceasefire's agreed start time. “So far there is calm,” Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the observatory, said. Zabadani, about 45 km northwest of the capital Damascus and about 10 km from the border with Lebanon, has been the focus of a weeks-long offensive by the army and Hezbollah aimed at wresting control of the town from rebels. The two Shiite villages of Al-Foua and Kefraya, meanwhile, have been targeted in a parallel offensive by an insurgent alliance that includes both the Sunni Islamist Ahrar Al-Sham and the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. — Reuters
