Britain’s former foreign secretary David Miliband, now chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, said the deal offered the best chance of a ceasefire since the five-year civil war began.
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He added that “games on the backs of people and tactics to gain territory must now come to an end”. The Syrian government, and its allies Russian Federation and Iran, have endorsed the deal.
The rebels say the deal benefits Assad, who appears stronger than at any point since the early days of the war, with military support from Russian Federation and Iran.
The rebels and the Syrian government are expected to stop attacking one another.
Weapons across Syria fell silent at 7pm local time (4pm Irish time), after the deadline for a cessation of hostilities in the region passed.
Mr Assad has agreed to the accord, but said on Monday that his government would take back all of Syria from “the terrorists”.
A Syrian girl reacts in pain as a wounded child lies next to her at a make-shift hospital following reported government air strikes on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of the capital Damascus on September 12, 2016.
Syria’s military says it is observing the truce, which does not apply to extremist groups.
“The clauses of the agreement that have been shared with us do not include any clear guarantees or monitoring mechanisms. or repercussions if there are truce violations”, they said.
Even before the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect – sundown in Syria – the difficulties were underscored. Many Syrian and Russian operations have struck what US officials describe as “moderate” forces that are “marbled” with the militants.
If the cease-fire holds, the agreement could set the stage in a week for Russian Federation and the United States to work together by sharing intelligence and coordinating targets against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Syria.
It is the second attempt this year by Moscow and Washington to halt the five-year-long civil war.
After seven continuous days of adhere to the ceasefire, Kerry said the United States and Russian Federation will work together in a Joint Implementation Center to defeat al-Nusra Front and Daesh terror groups.
“Regarding a truce, a ceasefire, the delivery of aid, this is a moral question and there is no debate around this, we absolutely welcome this, but there are other articles around which there are reservations”, Zakaria Malahifji of an Aleppo-based rebel faction told Reuters.
The Syrian opposition has still not given a formal response to the ceasefire agreement, but rebel representatives say they have told United States officials they plan to comply with the cessation of hostilities and expect to make an announcement in the coming hours.
The deal, announced last week by the USA and Russian foreign ministers, calls for a halt to fighting between the US -backed opposition and Russian-supported Syrian government. The cease-fire agreement does not block attacks on the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, another terrorist group with a history of links to al-Qaeda.
Mikhail Bogdanov’s comments on Monday came hours before a cease-fire was scheduled to go into effect in Syria at sunset.
The Syrian leader spoke as he walked through Daraya, a Damascus suburb that surrendered last month and returned to government control after a almost four-year siege. “We don’t trust the regime and there are no actions that will be taken in case the regime violates the truce”, FSA representative Zakaria Malahfki said.
Earlier he performed Muslim holiday prayers alongside other officials in a bare hall in a Daraya mosque.
SANA says no civilians were present in the suburb, once home to almost a quarter million people, after the last of them were evacuated as part of the surrender agreement.
Monday afternoon, however, the U.S. State Department said the deal includes no such provision for approval.
However, the al-Qaida linked insurgents are closely allied to many rebel factions and are a powerful force in the defense of Aleppo in particular.
An activist from the Aleppo Media Center – an opposition-affiliated activist group – told CNN that he read Assad’s presence in a formerly opposition-held area as a sign to “that this could be our fate someday”.
Air strikes on Aleppo and Idlib have killed at least 74 people since the deal was announced, according to the monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. However, the opposition says a loophole would allow the government to continue air strikes for up to nine days.
In June, activists said the Syrian regime pounded the area with barrel bombs just hours after food aid was delivered to the besieged suburb for the first time in almost four years.
Turkey has done so too, but lack of worldwide criticism of its incursion into northern Syria in August may be a quid pro quo for Ankara not seeking to undermine the latest accord.
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President Bashar Assad has promised his government will abide by the terms of the cease-fire, however, no confirmation yet if some major rebel groups will follow suit.
