Kerry said the “bedrock” of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions in an agreed area on the pretext of hunting fighters from the banned Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
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Russian Federation and the U.S., two historically acrimonious countries, will embark on a campaign of co-ordinated air strikes against jihadist militants in the country.
Air strikes on rebel-held parts of Syria have reportedly killed at least 82 people just hours after the United States and Russian Federation announced plans for a truce to begin in the next two days.
The two countries announced a plan for a period of “reduced violence” from sundown.
A peace deal has been reached between the United States and Russian Federation over the war in Syria, but those on the ground in the embattled country are hardly optimistic.
A UN-supported truce in February faltered after each side accused the other of repeated violations, and Damascus resident Taher Ibrahim said he did not expect this new truce to play out any differently.
The U.S. -Russia deal foresees a nationwide cease-fire starting Monday, followed a week later by a military partnership targeting the Islamic State and other militant groups as well as establishing new limits on President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Mr Kerry said the deal the was a potential “turning point” in the long-running civil war which has killed as many as 500,000 people and displaced millions of others. Citing “informed sources”, it said “the entire agreement was reached with the knowledge of the Syrian government”.
The deal would end aerial bombardment by Russian Federation and the Syrian air force of their positions and of civilians living in areas they control, he said.
Still, a senior official inside Ahrar al-Sham said rebels would nevertheless abide by the cease-fire to regroup after a punishing conflict with pro-government forces over Aleppo.
Saturday’s air raids were mostly in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.
The Observatory said the deadliest airstrike occurred in the northwestern city of Idlib and struck near the main market.
Aleppo was hit for the second day on Sunday, the Observatory said, after 12 civilians were killed there in air strikes on Saturday.
Civil defense members carry an injured civilian at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo’s al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Both Assad’s forces and the USA -backed rebels would cease attacks, while the US and Russian Federation would join forces against Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants.
The Russian and USA governments contend this will go beyond several previous truces between the Syrian government and armed opposition.
If Russia is able to persuade Assad to respect the ceasefire for a week, Moscow and Washington will set up a joint coordination unit to bomb agreed “terrorist” targets.
Assad’s forces would be restricted to operations against the Islamic State.
The Iranian spokesman, however, underlined that the ceasefire does not apply to the terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), al-Nusra Front or other newly-born offshoots, calling on the worldwide community to keep battling against the Takfiri extremists seriously, without any consideration and incessantly.
“We have holy warriors who will burn the ground”, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
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“The Syrian people – whether in areas controlled by the regime or the opposition – have lost faith in both sides”, said Safwan Badawi in east Aleppo.
