Russia, which has been steadily bombing Assad’s opponents for months, is responsible for stopping its own attacks, those by Syrian government air and ground forces, and those by Iran-backed Shiite militias acting on Assad’s behalf. Syria’s state-run news agency reported some shelling by armed groups in Damascus during the day, according to The Associated Press, and rebel forces have alleged the Syrian government has breached the deal in some areas.
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The UN Security Council has given its unanimous backing to the ceasefire in a resolution drafted by the USA and Russian Federation.
Another FSA-affiliated group, Alwiyat Seif al Sham, said two of its fighters had been killed and four more wounded when government tanks shelled them in rural areas west of Damascus.
Also excluded from the cease-fire is the Nusra Front, the official al-Qaida franchise in Syria.
United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said 97 armed groups agreed to ceasefire.
Fierce clashes were reported in northern Syria on Saturday between the Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish fighters, despite attempts elsewhere in the country to implement an internationally backed ceasefire agreement aimed at halting most of the country’s fighting after nearly five years of war.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it would suspend air strikes in a “green zone” – defined as those parts of Syria held by groups that have accepted the cessation of hostilities – and make no flights at all on Saturday.
Opposition activists in different parts of Syria said the situation has been “cautiously calm” since the truce went into effect at midnight Friday, reporting sporadic violations.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for several bombings in Syria that claimed the lives of dozens in recent weeks.
Putin added that the operations carried out by Russian aircraft, government forces and global coalition forces in Syria will not target groups that join the ceasefire.
In Kurdish-controlled Tal Abyad, near the border with Turkey, there were reports of fighting between the Syrian Kurdish YPG and IS.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva after the truce took hold at midnight, de Mistura said initial reports indicated that, within minutes, both Damascus and the nearby rebel-held town of Daraya suddenly “had calmed down”.
He says continued government breaches, however, will force rebel factions to retaliate.
Moscow has vowed to keep striking IS, Al-Nusra and other “terrorist groups”, but said it grounded its warplanes in the Syria campaign on the first day of the truce to avoid potential “mistakes”.
Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said the agreement could be “a turning point” in the war, even as Russian planes launched a wave of attacks on non-jihadist rebel areas before the deadline.
The cessation of hostilities was brokered by the United States and Russian Federation and will be monitored by those two countries via centers set up in Latakia, Washington, Moscow, Amman, and Geneva.
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Critically important is Russian Federation and the Syrian government’s adherence to the deal, Obama said. The report did not provide further details.
