Idlib is mostly controlled by rebels including the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate previously known as al- Nusra Front.
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Underscoring the war’s global impact, President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia’s air force, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Shi’ite militias from Iraq and Lebanon while the rebels are supported by the U.S., Turkey and Gulf Arab states. Forty days of fighting in Aleppo has killed almost 700 civilians, including 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group.
“We hope there will be a ceasefire so that civilians can get a break”.
Unidentified jets bombarded the market in the rebel-held city on Saturday hours after the United States and Russian Federation announced a ceasefire agreement for Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added. “The shelling goes on night and day, there are targeted killings, besieged cities”, said Abu Abdullah, who lives in Aleppo’s rebel-held east. Iran welcomed the deal on Sunday.
He explained that a lasting ceasefire will require a comprehensive mechanism to monitor the situation and control the borders in order to prevent the inflow of new fighters, arms or financial sources into Syria.
Leading rebel figure Mohammad Alloush on Sunday said the agreement was “still being studied”.
In February, a cessation of hostilities negotiated between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov fell apart within weeks, and efforts to reach a political settlement in the war-torn country have been on the verge of collapse.
Under the deal, fighting would halt across the country at sundown on Monday and Syria’s air force would stop attacking rebel-held areas.
Al-Assad’s government has endorsed the plan, while the opposition has voiced doubts on whether the new ceasefire will hold.
On the ground, residents were split on whether a truce could hold, saying they were exhausted after several rounds of failed ceasefires, most recently in February.
“A big part of the agreement serves the regime and doesn’t apply pressure on it and doesn’t serve the Syrian people”, said Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim.
“More importantly, Washington has finally agreed to joint military action” against jihadist groups, it wrote.
Syria’s conflict started with peaceful anti-government protests in March 2011.
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“I am very optimistic because this truce is not like the previous one, it categorises the opposition groups between terrorist and moderate”, he said.
