Residents and observers reported quiet in most of the country hours after the truce came into effect, though activists said airstrikes took place on contested areas around the northern city of Aleppo.
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Under its terms, if the peace holds for nine days, the Syrian air force will stop bombing, while US and Russian forces focus their efforts on hardline groups like Islamic State who are excluded from the truce.
Kerry said the truce was created to enable warring sides to resume negotiations on a political transition in Syria.
Russian Federation and Iran are both providing crucial military support to Assad against rebels and jihadi fighters. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, an al-Qaida-linked group previously known as the Nusra Front, has denounced the agreement. The group, which now calls itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, has been playing a vital role in the battle for Aleppo allied with other rebel factions.
More than 2,000 people have been killed in fighting over the past 40 days in the city, including 700 civilians and 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group.
After a week, however, the conflict would potentially enter a dramatically different stage.
If calm holds for seven days, the US and Russian Federation would then set up a new cooperation center that would jointly develop strategies to combat Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.
“I want to praise the opposition’s courage in embarking on this arrangement, and I call on them to separate themselves from al-Nusra where intermingling has been a problem”, Kerry told reporters in Washington.
Syrian government forces and insurgent rebels clashed in several areas on Sunday, according to Reuters. The deal’s architects hope the ceasefire will pave the way for an extended period of restraint that can serve as the foundation for peace talks.
A US and Russia-brokered cease-fire that came into effect on Monday has mostly held, with only sporadic and minor violations reported in different parts of Syria.
“To create a demilitarized zone, pro-government troops are preparing to withdraw from the Castello road to the distance laid down in the Russian-American agreement, simultaneously with the moderate opposition”, Kapitsyn said.
Diplomacy failed in the first, critical years of the war.
In Geneva, the United Nations envoy for Syria said his office would monitor the start of the cease-fire “carefully, before making any hurried comments”. “It’s about the regime or not”, said Lund.
Now, an emboldened Assad is vowing to take back all remaining rebel-held territory.
Staffan de Mistura said in a text message to The Associated Press on Monday that no statement from his office about the truce was expected before the following afternoon.
Spokesman John Kirby said later there were no provisions under the nationwide truce for U.S.
In the wake of the earlier failures, Kerry addressed criticism that the latest deal is flawed.
Still, other rebel factions showed deep uncertainty.
The deal is the latest in a succession of attempts to end fighting between government forces and non-jihadist rebels.
On Monday, the Syrian Arab News Agency said the truce would run from 7 p.m. local time (1600GMT) to 11.59 p.m. local time (2059GMT) on September 18.
Hours before the truce went into effect, the Syrian dictator reportedly declared that his government is “determined to recover every area from the terrorists”, echoing similar comments he made earlier this year.
Beirut-A ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russian Federation was set to begin at sunset on Monday (yesterday) in Syria amid mixed messages of commitment from various rebel factions but with verbal backing by President Bashar Assad’s government.
The source said the sealed trucks would come from Turkey and would be opened inside Aleppo by the Syrian Red Crescent, which would distribute the aid.
The situation in Syria is more complicated than ever, as there are multiple parties involved.
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It aims to allow much-needed aid to reach besieged cities like Aleppo and jump-start peace talks.
