-Russian brokered cease-fire for Syria came into effect on Monday at sunset, with monitoring groups and state media reporting clashes up until the final minutes, and the most powerful rebel groups having yet to commit to the truce.
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The truce, brokered by the United States and Russian Federation, entered into force at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) across Syria except in jihadist-held areas.
The planned week-long cease-fire is part of a deal negotiated between the US, which supports opposition forces, and Russian Federation, which supports Assad’s government.
“We also have reservations about targeting (Islamist rebel group and one-time al Qaeda affiliate) Jabhat Fateh al-Sham because we think that targeting them will be in the favor of the regime”.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military’s General Staff says the Russian and US militaries will set up a joint executive center to coordinate the strikes.
“The Syrian state is determined to recover every area from the terrorists, and to rebuild”, he said.
The Russia-U.S. deal is the second attempt to bring about a ceasefire this year, after an agreement concluded in February collapsed as each side blamed the other for violations.
“Assad is not supposed to be bombing the opposition, because there is a ceasefire, ” Kerry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Friday, 9th September, about reaching a deal to enhance the cessation of hostilities in Syria that would begin on Monday, 12th September and that Russia and the U.S. will coordinate to face terrorism and to provide the suitable conditions for the resumption of the inter-Syrian dialogue.
The ceasefire is due to take effect at sundown, and includes improved humanitarian aid access and joint US and Russian targeting of hardline Islamists.
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. However, the opposition says a loophole would allow the government to continue air strikes for up to nine days after the ceasefire takes effect.
Lavrov, in a joint press conference with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry and the UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, added that his talks with Kerry resulted in signing five documents which include agreements reached by the two states that would lead to the resumption of the political process in Syria.
In turn, De Mistura welcomed the Russian-US deal, expressing the United Nations readiness to work with all parties to implement it.
The activist, who asked to be identified as Omar for security reasons, said he was in Idlib to cover the atmosphere a day ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Fighting raged on several key frontlines on Monday, including Aleppo and the southern province of Quneitra.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 18 militants were killed fighting government forces in the push in the south.
Washington has long supported moderate rebel groups fighting Assad, who in turn is backed by Russian Federation and Iran.
Assad made a rare public appearance on Monday, attending prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha at a mosque in the suburb of Daraya, which surrendered last month after four years of government siege.
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The 10-day truce is due to be followed by co-ordinated US-Russian air strikes against jihadist militants. Assad’s regime held the Damascus suburb under siege for years until an evacuation deal just weeks ago allowed thousands of civilians and hundreds of rebel militants to leave the city.
