BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two wounded rebel fighters were evacuated to Lebanon on Sunday from a Syrian town surrounded by pro-government forces, a monitoring organisation said, in the first sign that a local ceasefire agreement is being implemented.
A U.N. vehicle transported the two fighters, as well as the father of one of them, from the Syrian town of Zabadani to Lebanon, after an agreement with government forces and Damascus ally Hezbollah to grant safe passage, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The ceasefire deal, restricted to two areas in Syria, was reached with help from the United Nations and involvement by Iran, which supports the government of President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey, which backs the rebels fighting against it.
It comes amid a flurry of diplomacy over Syria's civil war as heads of state gather for the U.N. General Assembly in New York. U.S. President Barack Obama is to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, with Syria and Ukraine topping the agenda.
Under the local ceasefire agreement, insurgents are to withdraw from Zabadani, near the Lebanese border. In return, rebels will allow civilians in two besieged Shi'ite villages in the northwestern province of Idlib to be evacuated. Evacuation of the wounded is one of the terms of the deal.
MORE EVACUATIONS EXPECTED
The British-based Observatory said a larger evacuation was expected on Monday, but the two fighters, members of powerful insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham, were in particularly serious condition.
The ceasefire in Idlib province was violated overnight for the first time since hostilities ceased nearly a week ago.
Government forces dropped barrel bombs on a village in the ceasefire zone, killing five people, the Observatory said, and rebels responded by shelling nearby Shi'ite village al-Foua.
But on Sunday calm had returned to the area, the Observatory said.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday gave the first public confirmation that a deal had been struck.
Meanwhile fighting rages elsewhere in the four-year civil war.
A rocket fired at a rebel-controlled neighbourhood in the central city of Homs killed at least 17 people including four children on Saturday, according to the Observatory.
Government forces have stepped up attacks in some areas as Russia increases military aid to ally President Bashar al-Assad.
The war has killed an estimated 250,000 people and driven more than 11 million from their homes. An exodus of record numbers of refugees towards Europe has brought new urgency to international efforts to end the conflict.