国际英语资讯:Water crisis close to end in Damascus with hopes pinned on upcoming negotiations_时事

国际英语资讯:Water crisis close to end in Damascus with hopes pinned on upcoming negotiations

The governor of Damascus countryside, Ala'a Ibrahim, was cited by local media as saying Friday that the water will never be cut off again in Damascus.

He said the Fijeh spring will quickly be repaired, within three days.

According to the new agreement, the rebels who accepted the truce and the reconciliation with the government will be given amnesty and return to normal lives, while the ultra-radicals will be deported to the northwestern province of Idlib as of Friday evening.

The news was met with a sigh of relief from the Damascenes, who have been suffering to secure water, such as waiting in long queues to fill up their jerrycans with water from public parks, or government-run centers for selling bottled water.

Aside from the drinking water, the capital people also have a hard time in managing to take a bath with the scarcity of water.

Closing the water file is not only good for restoring water, but also the upcoming negotiations planned to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan later this month.

The tension in Barada Valley has also threatened a Russian-Turkish brokered truce in Syria.

The truce, or the cessation of hostility agreement which went into effect in Syria on Dec. 30, was hailed by both the opposition and the government alike, each trusting his regional ally.

But as the truce was observed across the country, save for areas under the control of the Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, Barada Valley, which constitutes of 10 villages, couldn't enjoy the same respite as cutting the water from the capital seemed a redline to the government.