Two wounded rebels evacuated from Syria under ceasefire deal — monitor

BEIRUT — Two wounded rebel fighters were evacuated to Lebanon on Sunday from a Syrian town surrounded by pro-government forces, a monitoring organisation said, in the first sign that a local ceasefire agreement is being implemented.

A UN vehicle transported the two fighters, as well as the father of one of them, from the Syrian town of Zabadani to Lebanon, after an agreement with government forces and Damascus ally Hizbollah to grant safe passage, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The ceasefire deal, which is restricted to two areas in Syria, was reached with backing from Iran, Turkey and the United Nations.

Under the agreement, insurgents are to withdraw from Zabadani, near the Lebanese border. In return, rebels will allow civilians in two besieged Shiite villages in the northwestern province of Idlib to be evacuated. Evacuation of the wounded is one of the terms of the deal.

The British-based Observatory said a larger evacuation was expected on Monday, but the two fighters, members of powerful insurgent group Ahrar Al Sham, were in particularly serious condition.

The ceasefire in Idlib province was violated overnight for the first time since hostilities ceased nearly a week ago.

Government forces dropped barrel bombs on a village in the ceasefire zone, killing five people, the observatory said, and rebels responded by shelling nearby Shiite village Al Foua.