Nationwide Ceasefire Declared In Syria

A nationwide ceasefire in Syria went into effect at midnight on Thursday, after Syrian government and opposition forces signed several agreements, brokered by Russia and Turkey, who back opposing sides of the conflict.

Syrian opposition and government officials signed three documents, including a ceasefire agreement, “a package of measures to control the ceasefire… [and] a declaration of readiness to enter peace talks on Syrian conflict settlement,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said, according to Russia’s state-run Tass News, adding that “all the agreements reached are very fragile, they demand special attention and patience, a professional approach to these issues and a constant contact with our partners.”

International response to the agreement was confusing and at times contradictory in the early hours of the announcement. Putin said Moscow and Ankara would guarantee the deal, that was welcomed by Iran and would be followed by peace talks in Kazakhstan next month. However, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that there “is nothing final on whether Iran will sign it as a guarantor … All foreign fighters need to leave Syria. Hezbollah needs to return to Lebanon.”

The United States was not invited to participate in negotiations and the United Nations had yet to endorse the deal. On Friday, Moscow urged the U.N. to participate “in this important process,” and endorse a draft resolution circulated to council members who will vote on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

The agreement includes Syrian government forces and some 62,000 opposition fighters from roughly 13 factions, according to CBC. However, like the agreements that have failed before, not all opposition factions have agreed to or are included in the deal. The ceasefire does not include the former al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the Islamic State group or any of their allies. A spokesman for major opposition faction Ahrar al-Sham wrote on Twitter that the group did not sign the deal because of a “number of reservations.”

The agreement also makes no mention of the Kurdish factions fighting in Syria. The Syrian Kurds are a primary ally of the U.S.-led coalition forces fighting ISIS and an enemy of the Turks, whose main priority in Syria has been to prevent Kurdish factions from establishing an autonomous zone on their border.

Though the agreement bears similarities to those that have failed in the past, this ceasefire comes after the fall of opposition-held Eastern Aleppo earlier this month. After four years of fighting in Syria’s largest city, the Syrian army’s General Command announced last week that all rebel fighters and civilians wishing to leave were evacuated from the eastern side of the city. This put the Syrian government in control of the entirety of Syria’s largest city for the first time since 2012.

Ceasefire Violations Reported In Early Hours Of Truce

Just hours into the truce, several ceasefire violations were already reported, but no deaths were confirmed and the truce maintained a shaky hold.

In the early hours of the ceasefire, Syrian government forces carried out at least 20 air raids in several rebel-held towns on the borders between the provinces of Idlib and Hama, according to Reuters. Pro-government forces also attempted to make gains in southern Aleppo, an official with the Nour al-Din al-Zinki rebel group told Reuters.

Opposition activists accused forces loyal to the Syrian government of carrying out strikes and engaging in clashes with rebels in the town of Wadi Barada in the Damascus suburbs. Abdulkafi al-Hamdo, a language teacher-turned media activist, wrote in a Whatsapp group used used by Syrian residents to communicate with the outside world, that Lebanese Hezbollah fighters were advancing on the ground in Wadi Barada with ground to ground rockets. Hezbollah and the Syrian army denied involvement.

“Where is the ceasefire? I hope you get the news out. The regime is trying hard to take control of Wadi Barada,” al-Hamdo wrote. Al-Hamdo and other activists in the group also reported that all phone and internet connection in the town had been cut off.

The Syrian army launched an offensive on the town last week, after the government accused opposition factions in the area of putting diesel in the springs, contaminating the water supply that flows to the capital Damascus.

Recommended Reads:

• The New York Times: The State Of The War In Syria
• PBS Newshour: What it means that the U.S. is not part of the Syria cease-fire
• Vice News: Syria’s “fragile” peace
• The Washington Post: How a new U.N. resolution could — someday — bring justice to Syria
• The Wall Street Journal: Fragile Calm Settles Over Syria