Hopes fresh Syria ceasefire will hold despite clashes

BEIRUT: A Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire that aimed to end nearly six years of war in Syria and lead to peace talks, appeared to hold on Friday, but was tarnished by clashes since it took effect at midnight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, announced the ceasefire on Thursday, after forging the agreement with Turkey, a longtime backer of the opposition.

Monitors and a rebel official reported clashes immediately after midnight between insurgents and government forces along the provincial boundary between Idlib and Hama, and isolated incidents of gunfire further south.

Less than 12 hours later, Syrian government forces and their allies clashed with rebels in a strategic valley northwest of Damascus, and helicopter gunships carried out air raids in the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Government warplanes then carried out air strikes in northern Hama, the monitor said.

Calm still prevailed in many areas included in the deal, the Observatory and rebel officials said, but the fighting highlighted the fragility of any truce in a country where repeated international efforts towards peace have failed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US could join a fresh peace process once president-elect Donald Trump took office on January 20.

He also wanted Egypt to join, together with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and the UN.

A number of rebel groups have signed the agreement, Russia’s defence ministry said. Several rebel officials acknowledged the deal, and a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose alliance of insurgent groups, said it would abide by the truce.

One FSA commander was optimistic about the truce, the third serious attempt at a nationwide ceasefire this year.

“This time I have confidence in its seriousness. There is new international input,” Colonel Fares al-Bayoush said, without elaborating.

Syria’s civil war, which began when a peaceful uprising descended into violence in 2011, has resulted in more than 300 000 deaths and displaced more than 11 million people, half its pre-war population.

The ceasefire, in the waning days of US President Barack Obama’s administration, was the first major international diplomatic initiative in the Middle East in decades not to involve the US.

The previous two Syria ceasefires, brokered by Cold War foes Washington and Moscow, took effect in February and September, but both collapsed within weeks.

Putin said the parties were also prepared to start peace talks intended to take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Syrian state media said late on Thursday those talks would take place “soon”.

Putin said the parties were also prepared to start peace talks intended to take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Syrian state media said late on Thursday those talks would take place “soon”.– Reuters

A police officer watches over a busy intersection in Aleppo, yesterday. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that a deal had been agreed between the Syrian government and rebel groups on a ceasefire, which would begin at midnight.