DAMASCUS: Syria’s army announced Saturday a halt in fighting in parts of Eastern Ghouta after rebels and regime ally Russia agreed on how a safe zone will function for the besieged opposition enclave. With many of its towns and villages ravaged by bombardments in the six-year conflict, Eastern Ghouta near Damascus is one of the last strongholds of rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Eastern Ghouta is in one of four proposed “de-escalation zones” designated in an agreement reached by government allies Iran and Russia and rebel backer Turkey in May. But the deal has yet to be fully implemented over disagreements on who would police the safe zones, and Eastern Ghouta is just the second zone to see a ceasefire enter into force. The army “announces a halt in fighting in some areas of Eastern Ghouta in Damascus province from midday on Saturday (0900 GMT),” it said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA. “The army will retaliate in a suitable manner to any violation” of the ceasefire, the statement said, without specifying what areas were included. Russia said earlier Saturday it had signed a deal with “moderate” Syrian rebels at peace talks in Cairo on how a safe zone would function in Eastern Ghouta. But no rebel group said it had signed the Cairo agreement, with one influential group in the region saying it was not involved. The Cairo meeting “follows on from the ceasefire deal for the south of Syria” that took hold on July 9, said Wael Alwan, a spokesman for Faylaq al-Rahman. Published in Daily Times, July 23rd , 2017.