Syria ceasefire broken, monitor says, rebels blame government

A ceasefire in northwest Syria,part of a wider deal that included cessation of hostilities inthe area as well as in a town near the Lebanese border, wasbroken late on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

Shells apparently fired by insurgents hit the village ofal-Foua in the northwestern province of Idlib, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said, after rebels blamedgovernment forces for violating the ceasefire by dropping barrelbombs on an area nearby.

Warring sides had agreed on a ceasefire in al-Foua andnext-door Kefraya, two villages held by pro-government forces
and besieged by rebels, as well as in the town of Zabadani nearthe Lebanese border, where insurgents are holed up andsurrounded by government forces.

• Canada creates emergency relief fund to aid Syrian crisis victims
• Refugee crisis: Croatia lifts border blockade with Serbia
• Croatia overwhelmed by number of refugees, says foreign minister
• Germany takes a gamble on refugees but can't do it alone: Nahlah Ayed reports

But shelling ofal-Fouaresumed, the Observatory said, withno immediate casualties reported.

The shelling came after an online statement purportedly frominsurgents in the area that blamed the government for violatingtheceasefireby dropping barrel bombs on the nearby villageTaftanaz.

The statement said insurgents retaliated by firing atal-FouaandKefraya.

The Observatory said explosions had been heard inTaftanaz,with activists blaming government barrel bombs for killing atleast five people there. It was unclear ifTaftanazhad beenincluded in theceasefireagreement.

The leader of Lebanese Shia militant groupHezbollah, which backsSyrian government forces, confirmed on Friday that a long-termceasefiredeal had been reached which would include withdrawalof rebel fighters fromZabadaniin exchange for the evacuationof civilians fromal-FouaandKefraya.