The ceasefire, brokered by the United States and Russian Federation, is supported by countries that back Assad and his opponents, and marks the second attempt this year to halt a war that has frustrated all peace efforts since fighting began more than five years ago.
Advertisement
In this September 9, 2016, photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands at the conclusion of a news conference following their meeting to discuss the crisis in Syria, in Geneva, Switzerland. A Syrian military source said armed groups had broken the ceasefire at 6 p.m. (10.00 a.m. ET) in Maan, attacking army positions with machine guns.
It is the second major attempt by world powers to curb the fighting that has killed almost half a million people and spawned a humanitarian crisis stretching from the Middle East to Europe.
Syrian troops, allied militias and civilian areas came under shelling 23 times since the truce took effect on Monday, mostly from areas where USA -backed rebels are based, Russian Lt.
John Kerry, the USA secretary of state, said in Washington that while it was “far too early to draw conclusions” about the success of the ceasefire, initial reports of the first two hours suggested “some reduction” in violence.
Under the terms, if violence is significantly reduced for seven days, the United States and Russian Federation will collaborate on new airstrikes against jihadi militants in Syria, and the Syrian air force will be barred from flying over insurgent-held areas.
They said they opposed the targeting of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (known until recently as the Nusra Front) which recently split from al-Qaeda “as this would weaken the military power of the revolution and strengthen the Al-Assad regime and its allies”.
The US supports an alliance of rebel groups and Russian Federation supports president Bashar al-Assad. It also marks the first time in months that rebel forces and the Syrian government have halted their fire in all opposition areas, including government airstrikes, granting civilians a brief reprieve from the constant threat of bombing and shelling.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around Syria to monitor the conflict, said “calm is prevailing on most of Syria’s territories”.
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 on Tuesday morning but many people were still hunkering down in their homes, fearful of going out.
Aid trucks are waiting to deliver supplies to besieged Syrians amid a nationwide ceasefire that largely appears to be holding on its first full day, the United Nations says.
Twenty aid trucks on Tuesday crossed the Turkish border and headed toward the divided Syrian city of Aleppo after a ceasefire went into effect, state media said, although the United Nations could not confirm the report.
More than 301,000 Syrians have been documented as killed since the start of the conflict in 2011, the Observatory said in its latest assessment on Tuesday, although it estimates the actual death toll at around 430,000, in line with the UN’s estimate.
The head of rebel-held Aleppo’s city council told Reuters news agency that residents there were in desperate need of fuel, flour, wheat, baby milk and medicines.
Praising the Syrian opposition’s “courage” for agreeing to the plan, Kerry urged it to disentangle from Al-Nusra’s forces “in those areas where intermingling has been a problem”.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that Moscow wants the deal, which launched a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria, to be made public but that the USA opposes such a move.
Russian Federation said six people were killed and 10 wounded in Aleppo after the pact took effect.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Washington it was “far too early to draw conclusions” about the success of the ceasefire, but said initial reports of the first two hours suggested “some reduction” in violence.
Israel, meanwhile, said it attacked a Syrian army position after a stray shell landed across the border in the Israeli-administered Golan Heights.
Advertisement
What has been seen and described as one of the many fragile cease-fires in Syria is holding.
