• For the most part, warring factions in Syria are honoring the ceasefire agreement; Russia halts air
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[quote]A lull in fighting was reported throughout Syria on Saturday, hours after a United States-Russia brokered "cessation of hostilities" agreement took effect amid hopes the truce will lead to an end of nearly five years of war. The UN Security Council unanimously passed a vote late Friday to support the pause in fighting in Syria and demanded that all parties to the agreement fulfill their commitments to end hostilities. The vote came less than an hour before the start of the proposed ceasefire, which began at midnight Damascus time on Saturday (22:00 GMT Friday). [B]Fighting had raged across much of western Syria right up until the agreement came into effect, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The situation is calm - the truce is largely holding - for the first time in many years. The airbase in Latakia, which the Russians use for their air strikes, was very calm, as well," said Al Jazeera's Omar al-Salah, reporting from Turkey's Gaziantep on the border with Syria. [/B] An opposition activist in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta also reported quiet in the early hours of Saturday. Speaking shortly after midnight, Mazen al-Shami told AP that "Eastern Ghouta is quiet for the first time in years". While there were no reports of air strikes or heavy artillery fire, violence was reported on Saturday. A Syrian rebel group in the country's northwest said it came under attack from government ground forces at 4am (02:00 GMT) in what it called a breach of the cessation of hostilities plan. Three fighters from the rebel First Coastal Division were killed while repelling the attack in the Jabal Turkman area near the Turkish border in Latakia province, Fadi Ahmad, the group's spokesman, told Reuters news agency. The Syrian military could not immediately be reached for comment. [B]The Syrian government has said it will respect the agreement drawn up by Russia and the United States, but said it will continue to fight the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which are not covered by the deal. Meanwhile, a suicide car bomb exploded Saturday on the edge of Salamiyeh, a government-held central town, killing two people and wounding four others, the state news agency said.[/B] UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said any use of force must be proportionate and as a last resort if fresh fighting breaks the cessation of hostilities. "No doubt, there will be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process. We are ready for it," he said. Countries backing the Syrian peace process meet on Saturday in Geneva to assess the situation. "Let's pray that this works because, frankly, this is the best opportunity we can imagine the Syrian people has had for the last five years in order to see something better and hopefully something related to peace. Facts will tell," de Mistura said. [/quote] [url]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/syrian-ceasefire-early-reports-lull-fighting-160226231408062.html[/url] [quote]Russia has halted air strikes in Syria in accordance with a ceasefire brokered by the country and the US. Russia entered the Syrian conflict on behalf of ally President Bashar al-Assad in September 2015, and its air power has played a significant role in the recent major gains by government forces. [B]"Russia's air force fully halted bombing in the green zone - that is in those areas and those armed groups which had sent us ceasefire requests,[/B]" Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior representative of the General Staff, said. A lull in fighting was reported throughout most of Syria on Saturday, hours after the US-Russia brokered "cessation of hostilities" agreement took effect. Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh, reporting from Turkey's Gaziantep on the Syria border, said: "The situation is calm - the truce is largely holding - for the first time in many years. [B]"The airbase in Latakia, which the Russians use for their air strikes, is very calm as well."[/B] Rudskoi said while [B]Russia would continue air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, al-Nusra Front[/B], it was keeping its aircraft on the ground for now "to avoid any possible mistakes". [B]He said Russia had given the US maps showing the location of opposition groups pledging to abide by the ceasefire, as well as ISIL and al-Nusra Front units.[/B] He said 74 opposition units - including more than 6,100 fighters - had agreed to adhere to the truce. While there were no reports of air strikes or heavy artillery fire, violence was reported on Saturday.[/quote] [url]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/russia-halts-air-strikes-syria-truce-takes-hold-160227093526008.html[/url]
A bit late [URL="https://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1508163"]https://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1508163[/URL]
Ugh, I'm not posting threads for a while here.
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