Kerry sees less violence as Syria cease-fire begins
Assad vows to reclaim areas from ‘terrorist’ rebels
Syria already has seen “a reduction in violence,” as a cease-fire went into effect there at sundown Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry said.
The Syrian army announced earlier in the day it began implementing the truce, reached Friday by the United States and Russia. But its effectiveness remained clouded in doubt, because at least one rebel group did not commit to the plan, and Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to “retake every area from the terrorists.”
Kerry said Assad will be held accountable by Russia but did not provide details on how.
Under the agreement, attacks can continue on the Islamic State terrorist group and the Nusra Front, which has links to al- Qaeda.
Major battle zones in Syria have calmed since the cease-fire began, despite “a smattering of violence here and there,” Kerry added.
Residents in Aleppo reported some airstrikes and shelling, including a barrel bomb attack by government helicopters, according to the Associated Press.
The deal calls for both sides to allow humanitarian aid to reach Aleppo and other Syrian cities under siege by government forces — and eventual talks about a political transition. The U.S. wants Assad out, while Russia and Iran support the Syrian leader.
Assad has vigorously rejected calls from the West to step down, and his army has claimed extensive gains in recent weeks.
If the cease-fire holds for a week, the United States and Russia would start to work together by sharing intelligence and coordinating targets against the Islamic State and Nusra. The State Department said Russia is expected to share that information with Assad’s forces.
Grounding Assad’s air force was never part of the plan, State De- partment spokesman John Kirby said.
“The idea was not to ground Assad’s air force everywhere all the time, but to limit their combat operations in such a way that they cannot hit opposition targets and civilian targets,” Kirby said. “We’re not ruling out that Assad will be able to strike at Nusra.”
Some U.S.-backed rebel groups have been fighting with Nusra militants, complicating the ceasefire. Kerry said Monday that rebel factions must distance themselves from Nusra or “will suffer the consequences” of airstrikes.
Nusra recently said it changed its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and severed its ties to al- Qaeda.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said peace talks could resume next month, according to the Associated Press.
“If the talks fail, it will lead to a serious resumption of fighting, and Syria goes back to a darker place and we can’t stop that,” Kerry said. “The danger of these talks failing is that we can’t get back to a united Syria that can pull itself back together.”
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, and some 11 million have been forced from their homes.
Before the cease-fire began Monday, Assad said his government is committed to “freedom that starts with restoring security and safety, goes through reconstruction and ends with the independent national decision.”
He spoke after prayers marking the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha in the battered city of Daraya, which the government recently retook from opposition forces, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The once-bustling city outside Damascus is now virtually abandoned, with rebel fighters allowed to retreat and civilians evacuated by the government.
Syrian opposition groups mostly said they would abide by the cease-fire, despite concerns it favored Assad’s government. The hard-line Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, however, stopped short of signing off on the plan.