UN Observers Broker Swap Deal Between Rebels and Syrian Army

May 23, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

A video has emerged from Syria purporting to show the first deal of its kind between rebels and the Syrian Army. Two opposition prisoners were handed over in exchange for a government tank. UN negotiators say they helped to broker the deal, and hope it is a sign of more progress toward both sides accepting Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan. Al Jazeera's Caroline Malone reports.

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Khan Shaykhun

Khan Shaykhun is a Syrian town administratively belonging to Idlib Governorate. Khan Shaykhun has an altitude of 350 meters. It has a population of 52,972. Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Syrian army

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria

The Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria or the six-point peace plan for Syria, launched in February 2012, is considered the most serious international attempt to resolve the Syrian civil war in the Middle East diplomatically. The peace plan enforced a cease-fire to take place acro... Explore this topic

Political prisoner

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’. The term is used by persons or groups challenging the legitimacy of the detention of a p... Explore this topic

Negotiation

Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to cra... Explore this topic

United Nations

The United Nations is the world's largest, foremost, and most prominent international organization. The stated aims of the United Nations include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human r... Explore this topic

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities. Firepower is normally provided by a large-calibre main gun in a rotating turret and secondary machine guns, whil... Explore this topic

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