Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — For the first time, rebels have claimed the takeover of a
Syrian town.

The Free Syrian Army is said to have captured Zabadani, a town along
the Syrian border with Lebanon. The opposition said the Syrian Army agreed
to withdraw from Zabadani, about 30 kilometers from Damascus, as part of a
ceasefire and prisoner release.

“Some security members were arrested in the city of Zabadani,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Zabadani has long been regarded by the regime of President Bashar Assad as a rebel stronghold. Opposition sources said Zabadani was said to have served as a hub for weapons and equipment from Lebanon to the rebels.

The sources said the Syrian Army imposed a siege on Zabadani in wake of an infantry and armored attack on Jan. 13 and demanded the surrender of rebel forces. They said a ceasefire was arranged between Zabadani leaders and Deputy Defense Minister Assaf Chawkat, the brother-in-law of Assad, in what included an army withdrawal.

In exchange, the Free Syrian Army, which claims a force of nearly 20,000, is said to have pledged to pull its forces from the streets of
Zabadani. The sources said FSA did not expect the Assad regime to maintain
the ceasefire, and by late Jan. 18 Assad forces were reported to have
renewed shelling of Zabadani.

The United States has confirmed reports of a ceasefire in Zabadani. The
State Department said many people were killed in the fighting between FSA
and the Syrian Army.

“It may have been an expedient in order to just stop the killing, which
was quite brutal, in our reporting,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria
Nuland said on Jan. 18.

Ms. Nuland also urged FSA to suspend operations against the Assad
regime. The State Department spokeswoman said rebel attacks were playing
into the hands of the embattled president.

“Our message to the Free Syrian Army is the same message we have been
giving more broadly,” Ms. Nuland said, “that we do not want to see the
situation in Syria further militarized; that we think that just plays into
the regime’s hands, plays their game, gives them an excuse for the violence
that they are perpetrating. Rather, we want to see all aspects of the Syrian
opposition work together and put forward a clear road map for a peaceful
transition and transformation.”

  Assaf Chawkat, Bashar Assad, Free Syrian Army, Syrian Army withdraws from rebel-held town near Lebanon, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, U.S. State Department, Victoria Nuland, Zabadani