Russian-brokered cease-fire takes hold in southern Syria

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian and opposition media are reporting that a Russian-negotiated cease-fire has taken effect in a volatile southern city, ending weeks of violence. Fighting in the area over the past weeks between government forces and opposition fighters had threatened to undo years of relative calm along the borders with Israel and Jordan. Under the deal that took effect Wednesday, Russian military police are deploying in Daraa al-Balad, the rebel-held old quarter of Daraa city in southern Syria. The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the deal also involves the disarming or expulsion of a dozen rebel fighters from the area.