Syrian state media said the army and its allies had taken ground in Maydaa from “terrorists” in the area.
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A 72-hour “regime of calm” will be applied across the country until midnight on July 8, the Syrian army said in a statement republished in local media.
Despite the announcement of the truce, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that clashes had continued into Wednesday, with the Syrian government close to capturing the city of Madaya, which Assad’s forces have held under siege for months. Celebrating the holiday during a war is always hard, though it is not unusual for groups to agree to truces around the Eid itself, giving the civilian population a brief respite.
The President’s visit apparently aims to portray confidence and defiance as his troops are fighting on several fronts in Syria against what the government brands as foreign-backed terrorists.
For his part, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday he hoped a 72-hour truce in Syria was “a harbinger” that more ambitious and long-lasting similar deals could be struck.
The last truce – a high-profile “cessation of hostilities” brokered by the United States and Russian Federation – was declared on February 27 and excluded militant groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel alliance later said it would respect the Eid holiday ceasefire, but only if government forces also abided by it.
President Bashar al-Assad performed on Wednesday the prayers of Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking at the end of the holy month of Ramadan) at al-Safa Mosque in Tareeq al-Sham (Damascus Road) neighborhood in Homs.
The group also reported government and rebel shelling in the northern city of Aleppo, the heart of the five-year civil war where previous cease-fires have collapsed.
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Jaish al Islam spokesman Islam Alloush said: “The regime has made this announcement purely to escape worldwide pressure”. Two children were killed when insurgent groups lobbed missiles into Al Zahraa, a predominantly Shiite town in the north.
