Five years after the outbreak of civil war in Syria, a new agreement between the United States and Russian Federation offers the possibility that the horrific violence that has torn the country apart may be abating.
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The plan will begin with a “cessation of hostilities” from sunset on Monday, the BBC reports.
Russian Federation also needs to persuade the Syrian air force to stop strikes on anti-government positions, which have also killed large numbers of civilians.
For their part, the Russian authorities said that a joint “counterterrorist operation” with the USA was possible only if Washington could separate units of “the moderate opposition” from units of jihadist organizations, such as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra.
– In the Ramussa area south of Aleppo, “both pro-government and opposition groups will be required to provide safe, unhindered, and sustainable humanitarian, commercial, and civilian access to eastern and western Aleppo”, which is roughly divided into opposition control in the east and regime control in the west.
The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), an opposition umbrella coalition, welcomed the agreement but called on Russian Federation to pressure al-Assad’s regime to comply with the deal.
“We welcome the deal if it is going to be enforced”, said Ms Bassma Kodmani.
The United States and Russian Federation reached a breakthrough deal early yesterday to try to restore peace in Syria, but air strikes hours later added to rebels’ doubts that any ceasefire could hold.
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said that the deal provided a “window of opportunity” and that he would begin consultations on a relaunch of peace talks.
All attacks and airstrikes would be stopped and unobstructed access allowed to besieged areas, including the northern city of Aleppo, Kerry said.
The agreement was reached after 10 months of failed attempts to halt the fighting and of suspended efforts to reach a political settlement to the conflict.
The Syrian government has given its assent to the US-Russia agreement signed in Geneva.
He said there would be co-ordinated strikes against the terrorists by the Russian and USA air forces, and that in some areas, that excluded action by the Syrian air force.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s Government made no comment on the deal, but Syrian state media quoted what it called private sources as saying the Government had given its approval.
More than 250,000 people have been killed and more than half the population displaced in five years, according to United Nations figures.
The United States and Russian Federation have backed opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, with few signs of an end in sight to more than five years of conflict, which killed more than 400,000 people and drove tens of thousands of refugees into Europe.
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Syria’s conflict has also chased millions of people from their homes, contributing to Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.
