The ceasefire in Syria yesterday appeared to be holding, despite sporadic and minor violations, with observers saying most of the country was calm amid the latest attempt by the US and Russia to bring some quiet to the country’s devastating civil war.
The deal, hammered out by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov last week in Geneva, Switzerland, officially came into effect at sunset on Monday.
The Syrian army announced at the time that it would abide by the ceasefire until midnight on Sunday, while maintaining its right to defend itself against any violations.
Photo: AFP
It is the second attempt this year to try and reduce violence in Syria, where the conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half of its population of 11 million.
A truce in late February collapsed after just a few days.
The first week of the truce is to be crucial. During that time, all fighting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels is to stop. However, al-Assad’s forces can continue airstrikes against the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda-linked militants.
If calm holds for seven days, the US and Russia would then establish a new cooperation center that would jointly develop strategies to combat al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front.
Under the truce, al-Assad’s forces are no longer supposed to bomb Syria’s opposition. The Syrian Arab Air Force has been dropping barrel bombs on civilian areas under the pretext of targeting militants.
For the moment, “calm is prevailing in all areas,” said Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist in southern Daraa Governorate — where Syria’s crisis began in 2011.
In the northern city of Aleppo, where the fighting has concentrated over the past few months, opposition activists said rebel-held parts of the city were calm yesterday morning, but many people were still hunkering down in their homes, fearful of going out.
Aleppo-based activist Baraa al-Halaby said no aid deliveries, which are also part of the ceasefire deal, have entered the contested area.
Turkey’s state-run news agency said 20 UN trucks have left Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid to Aleppo.
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