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Syria releases 48 women detainees in three-way prisoner exchange Syria releases 61 female detainees in three-way prisoner exchange
(about 2 hours later)
Activists say the Syrian government has released 48 women detainees as part of a three-way prisoner exchange. Syrian authorities have released 61 female detainees in a three-way prisoner exchange, one of the more ambitious negotiated deals in the country's civil war in which rival factions remain largely opposed to any bartered peace.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that the women were freed over the past two days. It said the figure of 48 included 13 whose release had previously been reported. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that the government of President Bashar al-Assad had freed the women over the past two days. There was no immediate comment from Syrian officials, nor details of who the women were or their current location.
There was no immediate comment from Syrian officials. The Observatory said the release was part of a complicated hostage swap brokered last week by Qatar and the Palestinian Authority, which saw Syrian rebels free nine Lebanese Shia Muslims, while Lebanese gunmen simultaneously released two Turkish pilots.
The Observatory said the release was part of a complicated hostage swap brokered by Qatar and the Palestinian Authority that saw Syrian rebels free nine Lebanese Shia Muslims, while Lebanese gunmen simultaneously released two Turkish pilots. Lebanese officials have said a third part of the deal called for the Syrian government to free a number of female detainees to meet the rebels' demands.
Lebanese officials said the third part of the deal called for the Syrian government to free a number of women detainees to meet the rebels' demands. The involvement of Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar and the Palestinian Authority in the deal showed the extent to which the conflict has spread across the wider region.
Syria's crisis began in March 2011 with largely peaceful protests against Assad, and slowly turned into an insurgency and then a full-blown civil war. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict, while another 2 million have sought refuge from the violence in neighbouring countries and beyond.
Meanwhile, electricity has gradually returned to Damascus hours after a power cut plunged the capital and other parts of the country into darkness. The government blamed the outage on a rebel attack, which it says damaged a gas pipeline that supplies fuel to power stations in southern Syria.
Syria's state news agency quoted the electricity minister, Imad Khamis, as saying authorities planned to have power back on in all areas within 48 hours. The oil minister, Suleiman Abbas, said maintenance crews were working to supply the Tishrin power station south-east of Damascus with fuel via a reserve pipeline.
Damascus and southern Syria have been struck by several major power cuts throughout the war. Many rebel-held parts of the country have been without power for months.
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