Syria Special: Zabadani - The First Liberated City?

Tanks burning in a field in Madaya, near Zabadani, after being destroyed by soldiers from the Free Syrian Army

See Also, Tuesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The State of the Uprising, Continued

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UPDATE: Shelling has resumed in the city of Zabadani for a 6th day, as the cease-fire has apparently broken. Please see today's live coverage for the latest details.

The broken cease-fire, however, does not erase the significance of this event. The Free Syrian Army did win a military victory, if only for a day. Even more evidence is surfacing that testifies to that fact.

This video reportedly shows a burned-out hull of a tank, allegedly destroyed by the FSA yesterday:

While we will continue to monitor this situation, what we know now is that a small number of FSA have been able to hold of the Syrian regular army, and many more have defected from the Assad regime in the last 24 hours in Zabadani.

The original article is below.

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The Syrian town of Zabadani, at the bottom of a valley only 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Damascus, has declared that it is now independent from the Assad regime.

For five days the town of 40,000 was under constant attack, but video surfaced showing a large contingent of soldiers belonging to the Free Syrian Army, consisting of defectors from the regular army and members of the opposition, who had taken up arms. Several videos indicated that, despite the regime assault, the defectors were scoring hits on Assad's tanks.

Now members of the opposition, including some of its leaders, are reporting that the Assad military has agreed to a cease-fire.

"Tank bombardments have stopped. Preachers are broadcasting the agreement from the minarets of Zabadani," Kamal al-Labwani told Reuters.

"I think stiff resistance and defections among the attacking forces have forced the regime to negotiate. We will see if it will stick to the deal. The pullout is due to begin tomorrow," he added.

There was no comment from the Syrian authorities and official media have not mentioned the assault.

Al-Ayyam adds that residents are preparing to announce today that Zabadani is, officially, "the first liberated city in Syria."

This is huge news, and the clearest sign yet that the Assad regime is losing control of parts of the country. A major military defeat this close to the capital Damascus will help establish a foothold for the Free Syrian Army in the Rif Dimashq governorate, and a victory for the FSA could be used as evidence that there is a viable military resistance in Syria around which foreign nations could build a safe haven.

Beyond the reports of the presence of the FSA in the city before the attacks, and beyond the video at the top of the blog showing a burning field of Assad-loyal tanks (and another, similar video we posted yesterday), reports of widespread defection were also rampant. This video also reportedly shows a group of "shabiha" captured by the defectors:

Will the cease-fire last? Will there be more fighting, more defections? What will happen in Homs, which enduredshelling by the regime yesterday, with between 12 and 18 people killed? Perhaps the most important question: how will the international community react, when they learn that the opposition may have established a stronghold only 20 from the capital?

In a few hours, we'll begin to have the answers.