Rebels in Syria halt talks over peace negotiations

Syrian rebel groups said on Monday they had decided to freeze any talks about their possible participation in peace negotiations being prepared by Moscow in Kazakhstan unless the Syrian government and its Iran-backed allies end what they said were violations of a ceasefire.

In a statement, the rebel groups also said that any territorial advances by the army and Iran-backed militias that are fighting alongside it would end the fragile ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides, that came into effect on Friday.

"The regime and its allies have continued firing and committed many and large violations," said the statement signed by the mainly moderate rebel groups operating under the umbrella of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA).

• What you need to know about the Syrian ceasefire

The UN Security Council on Saturday gave its blessing to the ceasefire deal, which are slated to be followed by peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

The FSA statement said the main violations were in an area northwest of Damascus in the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley, where government forces and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group have been trying to press advances in an ongoing campaign.

Rebels say the army is seeking to recapture the area, where a major spring provides most of Damascus's water supplies and which lies on a major supply route from Lebanon to the Syrian capital used by Hezbollah.

Like previous Syria ceasefire deals, it has been shaky from the start, with repeated outbreaks of violence in some areas, but has largely held elsewhere. The rebel groups questioned Russia's ability to force the Syrian government and their allies to abide by the terms of the ceasefire deal.

8 killed in air raids

The Associated Press reported that an air raid struck several cars in northwestern Syria, killing at least eight people, including al-Qaeda-linked fighters and a senior commander with a Chinese Islamic militant faction, citing an activist group and a local jihadi commander.

The attack occurred late Sunday on a road leading from the town of Sarmada to the Bab al-Hawa area on the border with Turkey, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a local commander with the Fatah al-Sham Front, an al-Qaida-linked group. The militant spoke via text messages on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but the Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman said it is widely believed to have been carried out by the U.S.-led coalition.

The U.S. has killed some of al-Qaeda's most senior commanders in Syria over the past two years in airstrikes.

Power knocked out 

Earlier Monday, Syria's state news agency said al-Qaeda militants knocked out electricity towers near the capital, causing power cuts in a southern province. SANA said Fatah al-Sham fighters bombed three towers southwest of Damascus, causing electricity cuts in the Quneitra region.

The Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front, and the Islamic State group are not included in the ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, Germany said Monday it doesn't believe Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can continue as leader under a future peace agreement.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Assad's forces capturing eastern Aleppo and other parts of northern Syria "strengthens the regime" and its hand in political negotiations. 

But Schaefer told reporters in Berlin that Germany's assessment that "Assad can't play a permanent role in a peaceful future for Syria" hasn't changed now that his forces are blamed for 300,000 deaths in the six-year war.

Germany is involved in diplomatic efforts to forge a peace agreement in Syria and has contributed significant funds toward humanitarian relief for those affected by the conflict.