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| US and Russia agree to enforce new Syria ceasefire | US and Russia agree to enforce new Syria ceasefire |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A new deal between the US and Russia to enforce a ceasefire in Syria has been reached, with the cessation of hostilities set to come into force on 27 February. | A new deal between the US and Russia to enforce a ceasefire in Syria has been reached, with the cessation of hostilities set to come into force on 27 February. |
| The ceasefire, subject to the agreement between the warring parties, would exclude Islamic State, al-Qaida and al-Nusra Front. | |
| Scepticism about whether it can be enforced will be widespread after a previous planned ceasefire failed to take place. Instead, Russia continued its bombing campaign, sieges of starving towns were never lifted and other confidence-building measures ignored. | Scepticism about whether it can be enforced will be widespread after a previous planned ceasefire failed to take place. Instead, Russia continued its bombing campaign, sieges of starving towns were never lifted and other confidence-building measures ignored. |
| The previous ceasefire agreed by the International Syrian Support Group at the Munich security conference was due to have to come into force last Friday, but the United Nations had to abandon the plan. | The previous ceasefire agreed by the International Syrian Support Group at the Munich security conference was due to have to come into force last Friday, but the United Nations had to abandon the plan. |
| It is expected that the new ceasefire agreement will include greater details on how it will be monitored and enforced. Its details are due to be finalised in a phone call between presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. | It is expected that the new ceasefire agreement will include greater details on how it will be monitored and enforced. Its details are due to be finalised in a phone call between presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. |
| The aim is for the ceasefire to create the political space for talks on the future of Syria to start in line with previous agreements. | The aim is for the ceasefire to create the political space for talks on the future of Syria to start in line with previous agreements. |
| Syrian opposition coordinator Riad Hijab said there was a provisional agreement on a temporary truce in Syria, the pro-opposition Orient TV reported on Monday. | Syrian opposition coordinator Riad Hijab said there was a provisional agreement on a temporary truce in Syria, the pro-opposition Orient TV reported on Monday. |
| Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister who chairs the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee, said the agreement would be “according to international guarantees”. | Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister who chairs the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee, said the agreement would be “according to international guarantees”. |
| The committee was meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss a US-Russian plan to bring about a “cessation of hostilities”. | The committee was meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss a US-Russian plan to bring about a “cessation of hostilities”. |
| The agreement brokered between the two superpowers has been given an added urgency by destructive bombings in Homs and Damascus that killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 200. | The agreement brokered between the two superpowers has been given an added urgency by destructive bombings in Homs and Damascus that killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 200. |
| It is thought Isis, which claimed to have carried out the attacks, intervened decisively in a bid to disrupt peace talks knowing that if the non-extremist Syrian opposition and the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, do achieve a stable ceasefire then the pressure on Isis in its stronghold of Raqqa will increase. | |
| A ceasefire would also reduce some of the pressure on the Turkish border as refugees flee Aleppo and seek sanctuary. | A ceasefire would also reduce some of the pressure on the Turkish border as refugees flee Aleppo and seek sanctuary. |
| A UN committee of inquiry reported on Monday that there have been systematic human rights crimes in Syria, adding that they should be referred to the international criminal court or an ad hoc war crimes tribunal. It called on the Syrian government to end disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks. | |
| A spokesman for the US-led anti-Isis coalition, US army Col Steve Warren, said US intelligence estimates of the number of Isis fighters, which for the first 17 months of coalition operations ranged from 19,000 to 31,000, had been revised to between 20,000 and 25,000 – a level he said the group would struggle to maintain. | A spokesman for the US-led anti-Isis coalition, US army Col Steve Warren, said US intelligence estimates of the number of Isis fighters, which for the first 17 months of coalition operations ranged from 19,000 to 31,000, had been revised to between 20,000 and 25,000 – a level he said the group would struggle to maintain. |
| “They have been able to replenish their forces at roughly the same rate as we’ve been able to kill their forces. That’s hard to sustain,” he said. | “They have been able to replenish their forces at roughly the same rate as we’ve been able to kill their forces. That’s hard to sustain,” he said. |
| Warren said that until recently the average local Isis fighter was paid about $400 (£280) a month, while foreign fighters, who tended to be “better” because they were more committed and fanatical, were on $600 to $800 a month. |