Cairo/Beirut — A ceasefire deal for a Syrian rebel-held pocket south of Damascus was reached on Thursday, brokered by Egypt and Russia, Egyptian state media said. The ceasefire, which includes the Jaish al-Islam rebel faction, went into effect at midday on Thursday (10am GMT), Egypt’s state TV reported. Rebels hold a small pocket of territory south of Damascus, bordered on the west by an enclave held by Islamic State. Backed by Russia, Iran and Shi’ite militias, the Syrian government has pushed rebels back across Syria over the past year, shoring up its rule over the main urban centres. A string of ceasefire deals in recent months has eased the fighting in western Syria, including a truce in the southwest brokered by Russia and the US Reuters
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