Scattered violations of south Syria ceasefire

BEIRUT: Frontlines across three provinces in southern Syria remained mostly quiet yesterday almost 24 hours into an internationally brokered ceasefire for the region despite scattered violations, a monitor said.

The United States, Russia and Jordan last week agreed on a ceasefire for Syria’s Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida provinces that went into effect at noon local time on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the ceasefire appeared to be largely holding but reported sporadic incidents of violence mostly in Daraa.

The monitor said two shells fired by regime forces had landed on the town of Saida in eastern Daraa overnight, while rebels and government forces had exchanged fire in the village of Al-Naeema in the same province.

Another two regime shells were fired into the Al-Balad area in the Daraa province and brief clashes erupted in the provincial capital Daraa city overnight but quickly stopped, the monitor added.

In Quneitra province, there were also reports of sporadic exchanges of fire, though there were no casualties in any of the incidents, the monitor said.

“There are minor violations that do not affect the ceasefire,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

“In general there is quiet in the three provinces.”

Syria’s government had already declared its own unilateral ceasefire in the area last week, but fighting had continued.

Sunday’s ceasefire went into effect just ahead of new peace talks in Geneva, which begin later Monday.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti- government protests. — AFP