Bombing stops in north Syria as ceasefire appears to hold

SYRIA’S war-ravaged north-west woke up to relative calm yesterday, its skies free of warplanes for the first time in months, following a Russian-turkish ceasefire deal.

The agreement raised hopes of an end to one of the bloodiest phases in the nine-year conflict, but residents in Idlib were sceptical that this deal would last longer than previous ones.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said the truce that came into force at midnight appeared to be holding.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the war monitor’s chief, reported “a complete absence of regime and Russian warplanes in the Idlib airspace”.

He said an exchange of fire before dawn killed six regime fighters and nine members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a Uighur-dominated jihadist group, but in general belligerents seemed to be observing the ceasefire.

SANA, the Syrian state news agency, also reported calm in the region.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reached a deal after hours of talks in Moscow on Thursday. It will create a security corridor along the key M4 highway in northern Syria.

European and UN officials welcomed the deal but the US blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement supporting the ceasefire.

“It’s premature,” the US said, after Russia pushed for the support.

Dame Karen Pierce, Britain’s ambassador to the US, said: “There are a lot of questions about how it will work in practice, who will monitor it, what is happening west of Aleppo and critically has the Syrian government formally signed up?”

A Russian-backed government offensive on the last rebel bastion in the country has killed hundreds of civilians since December. Ahmad Qaddour, a 29-year-old refugee, said: “We do not have any confidence in the regime and Russia regarding this ceasefire.”