BEIRUT: Air strikes on Syria’s north-western Idlib region stopped yesterday, a war monitor said, after the government agreed to a Russian-backed ceasefire following four months of deadly bombardment.
The truce is the second such agreement since an August 1 ceasefire deal broke down only days after going into effect, prompting Damascus and regime ally Moscow to resume bombardment.
Russia-backed regime forces have been pressing an offensive against the major opposition stronghold in Idlib despite a deal with rebel backer Turkey in September last year to protect the area.
Heightened air strikes by Damascus and Russia have killed more than 950 people since the end of April, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The violence has also displaced more than 400,000 people, according to the UN.
On Friday, Moscow announced that Damascus government forces would observe a new ceasefire from Saturday morning in Idlib.
It said the truce aimed “to stabilise the situation” in the anti-government bastion.
Syrian state news agency SANA yesterday said the government agreed to the deal.
But the army “reserves the right to respond to violations” by jihadists and allied rebel groups, it added, citing a Syrian military source.
The head of the Observatory said air strikes had stopped since the agreement went into effect at 6am.
“There are no warplanes in the sky and air strikes have stopped,” Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.
Clashes between regime loyalists and insurgents on the edges of the anti-government bastion have also ceased, he said.
However, artillery and rocket fire continued despite the deal, he added. – AFP
