Syria Civil War - Truce Takes Effect from Friday Midnight February 26,2016

 

The first major truce in Syria's five-year civil war has come into effect from Friday midnight Feb 26,2016

The "cessation of hostilities" began at midnight (22:00 GMT Friday) with early reports suggesting that guns had fallen silent over major battlefields.

UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said fighting had "calmed down" but one breach was being investigated.

In the run-up to the deadline US President Barack Obama warned the Syrian government and its ally Russia "the world will be watching".

Russian jets were reported to have intensified attacks on Syrian rebel positions on Friday Feb 26,2016

But as the deadline passed monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said while some gunfire was heard in the northern city of Aleppo elsewhere it was quiet.

The nationwide cessation of hostilities, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial but fragile step towards ending a war that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population.

It faces formidable challenges, including the exclusion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which control large parts of the country.

United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said peace talks would resume on March 7 if the truce holds and more aid is delivered – a key sticking point in negotiations.