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Syria opposition say willing to lift siege on pro-Assad towns

by Reuters
Tuesday, 28 January 2014 13:06 GMT

GENEVA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition is willing to lift a siege on three pro-government villages in the north of the country as part of a wider agreement to relieve besieged towns on both sides, the opposition's spokesman said on Tuesday.

Louay al-Safi told reporters at the end of a morning session of talks in Geneva that Free Syrian Army fighters are willing to relieve pressure on the Shi'ite Muslim villages of Nubl, al-Zahra and al-Foua.

But he said President Bashar al-Assad's government has not agreed to lift the siege on the rebel-held Old City of Homs, seen as crucial for the success of any deal.

"We asked the regime to lift the siege from all cities and we agreed to lift any siege by the FSA from any town and city in Syria. There are three that are surrounded by the FSA because they have been used as a launching pad from the regime to attack Aleppo," Safi said.

(Reporting by Mariam Karouny, editing by Khaled Yacoub Oweis; Editing by John Stonestreet)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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