A dozen Syrian rebel factions have suspended talks on new peace negotiations, accusing President Bashar al-Assad's regime of violating a four-day-old ceasefire with attacks near Damascus that continued today.
The decision threatens the process sponsored by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey, which began with a truce and is meant to lead to negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana this month.
The ceasefire has brought quiet to large parts of the country but has been undermined by sporadic violence, particularly fighting in the Wadi Barada region north of Damascus that supplies the capital's water.
Government forces backed by fighters from Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah continue to press a two-week offensive there despite the ceasefire which began on December 30.
A dozen rebel groups announced late yesterday the "freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations."
They said they had respected the ceasefire, but accused the regime of "major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta", near Damascus.
"If things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," they said.
It was signed by a dozen groups, including the Army of Islam, Faylaq al-Sham, and the Sultan Murad Brigade, which is close to Turkey.
Fierce fighting in Wadi Barada continued today, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
Government forces used barrel bombs and artillery after advancing yesterday to the outskirts of the Ain al-Fijeh spring, the area's main water source, it said.
The regime accuses rebels of deliberately damaging infrastructure there, poisoning the water supply with fuel then cutting the flow to Damascus altogether.
Rebels say government strikes caused the damage, which has left four million people in Damascus without water since December 22.
The regime says former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front is in the area, a claim opposition fighters deny.
Fateh al-Sham, along with the Islamic State (IS) group, is excluded from the truce.
Syrian state media has been conspicuously quiet on the Wadi Barada battle, but Damascus governor Alaa Ibrahim told the Al-Watan daily that the army was progressing.
"Military operations are under way, and God willing there will be happy news soon," he told the newspaper, which is close to the government.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman warned the truce was in a "critical phase" and faced "collapse" if sponsors Russia and Turkey did not intervene to save it.
The monitor reported violations elsewhere in the country today, including air strikes on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the northwestern province of Idlib that killed a pregnant woman and wounded three other civilians.
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