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| No Aid Seen in Syrian Town Despite a Deal to Lift Barriers | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — The rebel-held Syrian town of Moadhamiya hoisted the government’s flag from its tallest building on Thursday as part of a tentative truce deal, a symbolic victory for the government, which has blockaded the town for nearly a year, preventing food and medical supplies from entering. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — The rebel-held Syrian town of Moadhamiya hoisted the government’s flag from its tallest building on Thursday as part of a tentative truce deal, a symbolic victory for the government, which has blockaded the town for nearly a year, preventing food and medical supplies from entering. |
| According to antigovernment activists in the town and others familiar with the deal, government security officials had promised in return to bring cooked meals into the town, where doctors and activists say at least half a dozen people have died of malnutrition. | According to antigovernment activists in the town and others familiar with the deal, government security officials had promised in return to bring cooked meals into the town, where doctors and activists say at least half a dozen people have died of malnutrition. |
| But in an indication of the difficulty of striking and keeping such pacts in an atmosphere of deep mistrust, by Thursday evening no food had been delivered, rebels in the town were being accused by comrades elsewhere of striking a deal for money, and the planned 48-hour cease-fire appeared to be threatened by clashes between government and rebel fighters. | But in an indication of the difficulty of striking and keeping such pacts in an atmosphere of deep mistrust, by Thursday evening no food had been delivered, rebels in the town were being accused by comrades elsewhere of striking a deal for money, and the planned 48-hour cease-fire appeared to be threatened by clashes between government and rebel fighters. |
| The government in recent months has stepped up a strategy of pursuing small-scale local cease-fires even as it continues to bombard rebel-held areas and as prospects for a comprehensive peace settlement appear remote. | The government in recent months has stepped up a strategy of pursuing small-scale local cease-fires even as it continues to bombard rebel-held areas and as prospects for a comprehensive peace settlement appear remote. |
| Rebels and activists in Moadhamiya said they were under heavy pressure from the 8,000 civilians there — government supporters put the figure around 3,000 — to accept the deal, despite their suspicion that it was a trick. They also said they believed that daily cooked meals, rather than bulk food supplies that could be stretched out to provide many meals, were being offered as a way to control the town, under threat of stopping the deliveries. | Rebels and activists in Moadhamiya said they were under heavy pressure from the 8,000 civilians there — government supporters put the figure around 3,000 — to accept the deal, despite their suspicion that it was a trick. They also said they believed that daily cooked meals, rather than bulk food supplies that could be stretched out to provide many meals, were being offered as a way to control the town, under threat of stopping the deliveries. |
| The government says the civilians are being held hostage by the fighters, while activists there say the government is using starvation as a weapon of war against the town, which is just outside the city limits of Damascus, the government-held capital. | The government says the civilians are being held hostage by the fighters, while activists there say the government is using starvation as a weapon of war against the town, which is just outside the city limits of Damascus, the government-held capital. |
| Fighters in Moadhamiya have repeatedly pleaded with rebels elsewhere to help them break the siege, but they face a military challenge because they are sandwiched between important military installations. | Fighters in Moadhamiya have repeatedly pleaded with rebels elsewhere to help them break the siege, but they face a military challenge because they are sandwiched between important military installations. |
| “To this moment we did not get anything,” Qusai Zakarya, the nom de guerre of a spokesman for Moadhamiya’s rebel council, said Thursday via Skype. “We are just waiting, and all the fighters who let us down are talking and gossiping about us that we sold Moadhamiya out.” | “To this moment we did not get anything,” Qusai Zakarya, the nom de guerre of a spokesman for Moadhamiya’s rebel council, said Thursday via Skype. “We are just waiting, and all the fighters who let us down are talking and gossiping about us that we sold Moadhamiya out.” |
| There appeared to be disagreements over the terms. The spokesman for Moadhamiya’s rebel council said initially that the rebels had not agreed to disarm. But later, he and other activists involved in the negotiations said the government would not bring food until rebels gave up their heavy weapons and ejected anyone from the town who was not a legal resident, which would reduce the ranks of rebel fighters. | There appeared to be disagreements over the terms. The spokesman for Moadhamiya’s rebel council said initially that the rebels had not agreed to disarm. But later, he and other activists involved in the negotiations said the government would not bring food until rebels gave up their heavy weapons and ejected anyone from the town who was not a legal resident, which would reduce the ranks of rebel fighters. |
| A Syrian Parliament member, George Nakhleh, told the Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen that after the rebels handed over their heavy weapons, residents would establish armed groups whose job would be to protect the town, an arrangement that sounds much like the pro-government militias operating elsewhere. He said the army would not enter the area but instead would guard it from outside. | A Syrian Parliament member, George Nakhleh, told the Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen that after the rebels handed over their heavy weapons, residents would establish armed groups whose job would be to protect the town, an arrangement that sounds much like the pro-government militias operating elsewhere. He said the army would not enter the area but instead would guard it from outside. |
| “The army will protect Moadhamiya, but inside the town the residents will protect it,” he said. “They will carry weapons and set up checkpoints to prevent the entrance of strangers who came from around the world to destroy our country.” | “The army will protect Moadhamiya, but inside the town the residents will protect it,” he said. “They will carry weapons and set up checkpoints to prevent the entrance of strangers who came from around the world to destroy our country.” |
| Another activist who gave only his first name, Ahmed, said clashes had erupted as government forces tried to approach the town, and rebels had fired back. He said they were trying to keep the response low-key to avoid breaking the truce before food arrives. | Another activist who gave only his first name, Ahmed, said clashes had erupted as government forces tried to approach the town, and rebels had fired back. He said they were trying to keep the response low-key to avoid breaking the truce before food arrives. |
| “If the regime does not bring it tomorrow, we will break it forever and no one can blame us,” he said. | “If the regime does not bring it tomorrow, we will break it forever and no one can blame us,” he said. |
| In recent months, several thousand civilians have been evacuated from Moadhamiya in cease-fires brokered between rebels and the government. But the brief truces have ended in recriminations, once when shelling broke out as civilians tried to exit the town, and again when activists said hundreds of civilians were arrested soon after leaving. | In recent months, several thousand civilians have been evacuated from Moadhamiya in cease-fires brokered between rebels and the government. But the brief truces have ended in recriminations, once when shelling broke out as civilians tried to exit the town, and again when activists said hundreds of civilians were arrested soon after leaving. |
Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting. | Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting. |