The Syrian government and the armed opposition yesterday agreed to a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight last night, in a breakthrough truce aimed at ending the bloody five-year conflict.

The deal follows talks between Turkey and Russia and could potentially pave the way for a lasting political agreement.

If the truce lasts, regime and opposition groups will sit down for peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan next month. Moscow and Ankara, which support opposing sides in the conflict, promised to act as guarantors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in Moscow that three documents had been signed: an agreement between the Syrian government and the rebels on a ceasefire, measures for overseeing the truce and an agreement to start peace talks.

"The agreements reached are, of course, fragile, need a special attention and involvement... But after all, this is a notable result of our joint work, efforts by the defence and foreign ministries, our partners in the regions," Mr Putin said.

Mr Putin also declared he would reduce Moscow's military contingent in Syria, which has been flying a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad since last year.

The decision was likely prompted by Mr Assad’s victory in Aleppo, where most of the Russian troops on the ground in Syria had been tied up.

The fall of Syria’s second city, dubbed a key strategic prize in the conflict, has handed Mr Putin a victory and the leverage to position Moscow as a Middle East power broker.

Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, said the truce will include 62,000 opposition fighters from seven groups across Syria but will exclude Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isil) and the formerly al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS).

Those who do not observe the ceasefire “will be treated as terrorists,” Mr Shoigu said.

The agreement also excludes the YPG, the Kurdish militia that has carved out de-facto autonomous areas in the north of the country. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization.

Spokesmen for the Free Syrian Army, an alliance of rebel groups, said they would abide by the ceasefire.

Leaders from the opposition told the Telegraph all rebel-held areas of Syria would be covered.

However, uncertainty remains about the province of Idlib, which is now the opposition’s largest stronghold and home to thousands of fighters and civilians forcefully evacuated from Aleppo.

The area is largely under the control of JFS and more extreme Islamist groups such as Ahrar al-Sham. Ahrar al-Sham is one of the seven groups the Russian ministry of defence said had signed the ceasefire deal, although Moscow has previously described it as a terrorist group.  

The government has escalated its aerial campaign against Idlib since the fall of Aleppo and will likely use the pretext of combating terrorism to continue its strikes on the city in spite of a truce.

(Click here for Android APP of IBTN. You can follow us on facebook and Twitter)

Share This News

About sharing