Syrian deal in jeopardy as rebels refuse last-minute guarantees

A UN-brokered peace deal for Syria appeared to collapse today as the government made a new demand that its opponents provide “written guarantees” to lay down their weapons before regime forces withdraw from cities, a call swiftly rejected by the country’s main rebel group.

The deal, brokered by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, was due to take effect on Tuesday, paving the way for negotiations to end the country’s year-old crisis, which the UN estimates has killed 9,000 people.