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Syria conflict: Army declares 72-hour Eid al-Fitr truce | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The Syrian military has unilaterally declared a 72-hour truce covering the whole country, state media report. | The Syrian military has unilaterally declared a 72-hour truce covering the whole country, state media report. |
The "regime of calm" began at 01:00 on Wednesday (22:00 GMT on Tuesday) and will last until midnight on Friday. | |
A number of rebel groups have said they will respect the truce, which covers the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr. | |
Earlier, President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance outside the capital, Damascus, attending Eid prayers in the devastated city of Homs. | Earlier, President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance outside the capital, Damascus, attending Eid prayers in the devastated city of Homs. |
Large parts of Homs were once controlled by rebel forces, but for the past two years they have been confined to one besieged suburb. | |
There was no indication in the military's announcement that the "regime of calm", which came at the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the start of Eid al-Fitr, had been discussed with its opponents. | |
However, the Western-backed Free Syrian Army and allied rebel factions said they would abide by the truce "so long as the other side does the same". | |
"Until now, [the government] has not abided by what it has announced, in that it has launched a number of attacks in various areas today," said a statement posted on Twitter by Mohammed Alloush, the opposition's former chief peace negotiator. | |
A spokesman for the rebel group Jaysh al-Islam earlier told the Associated Press that it was battling government forces around the village of Mayda, in the rural eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus. | |
The state-run Sana news agency said government forces had gained control of large parts of the Mayda, making it a "launching point" to expand operations. | |
A rescue worker in the divided northern city of Aleppo also said barrel bombs dropped by government aircraft had struck the rebel-held Hraitan area. | A rescue worker in the divided northern city of Aleppo also said barrel bombs dropped by government aircraft had struck the rebel-held Hraitan area. |
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, meanwhile said two children had been killed by missiles fired by rebel groups at the pro-government, predominantly Shia village of Zahraa, north-west of Aleppo. | The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, meanwhile said two children had been killed by missiles fired by rebel groups at the pro-government, predominantly Shia village of Zahraa, north-west of Aleppo. |
US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the temporary truce. | |
"We are trying very hard to grow these current discussions in a longer-lasting, real, enforceable, cessation of hostilities," he said during a visit to Georgia. "We hope that the 72 hours could perhaps be a harbinger of possibilities to come." | |
The military also did not say whether the truce would result in a pause in action against so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. | |
The rival jihadist groups were excluded from a nationwide cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Russia in late February, which collapsed after several weeks with both sides accusing each other of repeated violations. | |
On Tuesday evening, 16 people were killed in an IS suicide bombing at a bakery in the north-eastern city of Hassakeh, where a crowd was buying bread before breaking their fasts on the last day of Ramadan. | |
More than 250,000 people have been killed since an uprising against Mr Assad erupted five years ago. Eleven million others have been forced from their homes. | More than 250,000 people have been killed since an uprising against Mr Assad erupted five years ago. Eleven million others have been forced from their homes. |