UN : Syria agrees to temporary cease-fire

The Syrian government agreed to a cease-fire for Eid al-Adha and some rebel leaders agreed to the principle of a cease-fire, a U.N. official said Wednesday. While U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said the government agreed to a four-day halt in fighting for the holiday that begins Friday, a Syrian government official said nothing was finalized, CNN reported. "The issue of [halting] the military operations during the Eid al-Adha holiday is still under study by the general command of the military and the armed forces," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told CNN. "A final decision will be issued tomorrow in this regard." Brahimi said some rebels "agreed to the principle" of a cease-fire as well. Meanwhile, rebels and government forces blamed one another for what the government called a "massacre" in Douma, a Damascus suburb. While opposition forces said government troops were to blame, Syria's state-run media reported "terrorist armed groups committed a heinous massacre," using knives to kill nine men, one woman and three children. In Jordan, where Syrians have fled since the fighting began in March 2011, a health official said the refugees are taxing his country and other host countries. Health Minister Abdullatif Wreikat said providing healthcare to "the Syrian brothers" has depleted resources and placed great pressure on Jordanian hospitals and clinics, Jordan's official Petra news agency said. He said Jordan, home to more than 200,000 refugees, needs more aid.