Ceasefire with Hizbullah Over as Shelling Resumes in Syrian Towns

A Syrian rebel group said Saturday that a rare ceasefire negotiated with Hizbullah fighters in a Syrian town and two villages was over as shelling resumed.

The 72-hour ceasefire in the northern rebel-held town of Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon, as well as in Foua and Kafraya, two Shiite villages in Idlib province, was reached earlier this week and was to last until Sunday.

But Ahrar al-Sham, the main rebel group involved in the negotiations, announced the negotiations have collapsed.

The talks were focused on securing safe passage for Ahrar al-Sham and civilians out of Zabadani in exchange for allowing humanitarian aid to the besieged villages.

Activists said the ceasefire was brokered with the help of Turkish and Iranian mediation.

Following the collapse of the negotiations, shelling resumed, state media and a monitor said.

Syrian state television said a child and her father had been killed and 12 others wounded in "terrorist shelling" on Foua and Kafraya.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, said rebels had fired about 20 missiles at the two villages and also reported shelling on Zabadani.

In Foua, a resident who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the bombardment.

"Today we've been hearing the sound of explosions since dawn," the resident said. "The truce failed and the attacks have resumed."