Syrian ceasefire holds amid claims of sporadic breaches

Syria’s fragile ceasefire has entered its second day with reports of scattered airstrikes and bombings, but overall the slowdown in fighting – regarded as the most successful effort yet in the five-year civil war – appeared to be holding. Warplanes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bombed seven villages in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Several airstrikes hit central and northern Syria yesterday, a monitor said.

The Russian co-ordinating unit in Syria said there had been nine breaches of the ceasefire, although the partial cessation of hostilities appeared to be broadly intact.

Safer streets

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based monitor, said one person had been killed in Aleppo province.

“[Saturday] was the first day that people could really go out and walk in the streets,” a Syrian opposition leader said.

The US and Russia are monitoring the ceasefire from separate command centres. The two superpowers are responsible for deciding whether some attacks on either Islamic State (Isis) or the al-Nusra Front, two jihadi organisations excluded from the deal, are permissible. The two groups occupy at least half of Syria, but US and Russian maps do not show exactly the same territories excluded from the ceasefire.

Geneva talks

Both superpowers have accepted there will be contested ceasefire breaches, and the real test will be whether they can not only agree a breach has occurred but also prevent a repetition. The aim is to strengthen the ceasefire, increase humanitarian access and build confidence before the resumption of peace talks in Geneva on March 7th. Both Russia and the US have posted tweets urging Syrians to report ceasefire breaches.

Much of the violence involved battles between Isis and the Syrian Kurds operating under the banner of the YPG, People's Protection Units. In Aleppo, Syria's second city, Saturday night passed without any fighting or air raids, a correspondent said. A Syrian military source denied the army was violating the truce agreement. State media described rocket attacks near Damascus and several deadly attacks by Isis. – (Guardian service)