NGO: Syrian Troops, Rebels in 1st Clashes Since Truce
Clashes between the Syrian army and rebel fighters broke out Friday for the first time since a hard-won U.N.-backed ceasefire came into force a day earlier, a monitoring group said.
"Fighting with heavy machineguns took place in Khirbet al-Joz, located on the Turkish border, between regime soldiers and (army) deserters," Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Agence France Presse.
The group, which has a network of activist throughout Syria, said army deployed tanks in the area before the clash.
Regime forces halted heavy shelling and other major attacks in line with the truce that began at dawn Thursday, though there were accusations of scattered violence by both sides.
The government has ignored demands to pull troops back to barracks.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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