Nationwide truce agreed by US, Russia takes effect in Syria
The Syrian army says a nationwide ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia has taken effect across the war-ravaged Arab country, and a relative calm now prevails on most battlefields.
The “seven-day regime of calm” came into effect across Syria at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Monday and would last until midnight Sunday (2100 GMT), the army said in a statement, stressing it reserved the right to respond to any violation by armed groups.
However, only a few hours after the start of the truce, the Syrian army said the terrorists had violated the ceasefire twice by firing rockets and artillery shells toward its positions in the northern flashpoint province of Aleppo. Meanwhile, militants have claimed in a statement that they have killed four government soldiers in the southern province of Dara’a. But there has been no official reaction to the report.
While Washington has called on warring sides to adhere to the truce and Moscow has voiced concerns over some militant groups' refusal to respect the agreement, President Bashar al-Assad has pledged to purge terrorists from the country regardless of the success or failure of the new accord.
Hours before the ceasefire went into effect, Assad vowed that his government would take back land from "terrorists" and rebuild the country.
The agreement's initial aims include allowing humanitarian access and joint Moscow-Washington attacks against militant groups which are not covered by the agreement, including Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
The truce is the second attempt this year by Washington and Moscow to halt the war in Syria which started in March 2011.
On Saturday, the US and Russia announced the deal in the Swiss city of Geneva after some 13 hours of marathon talks on the Syrian crisis in order to put the peace process back on track.
Moscow supports Assad's government, while the US sponsors militants fighting against Damascus.
Over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Syria, according to UN Special Envoy for the Arab country Staffan de Mistura.
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