Ceasefire ahead of Russian backed talks

The Syrian military said yesterday it has temporarily halted combat operations in the south ahead of Russian-sponsored ceasefire talks with the rebels. The announcement came after a large Syrian rebel faction in the south said it would not attend the talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, because the government was not abiding by previous ceasefire agreements.

The two sides have held four previous rounds of talks in Kazakhstan since January in parallel to Unbrokered peace talks in Geneva. Neither process has made much progress.

A ceasefire declared in May, which is built around so-called “de-escalation zones”, has been repeatedly violated.

The military announcement did not link the pause to the Astana talks but said it would run until 6 July.