Ceasefire in Syria: Peace Prevails in Many Provinces

The Syrian ceasefire monitoring group will assess compliance with the agreement that took effect on Friday at 11 PM during a meeting on Saturday afternoon in Geneva, announced UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and proposed that peace talks be held on March 7, reports the Patria News Agency.

Agencies report that peace has prevailed in the vicinity of Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city held by rebels.

The non-governmental organization, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), states that Russian air forces, allies of President Bashar al-Assad, have not carried out any attacks since midnight. Peace has prevailed in the provinces of Homs and Hama, reports AFP citing SOHR.

De Mistura announced on Saturday morning that the next peace talks on Syria should begin on March 7 in Geneva, reports Reuters.

At a press conference held in Geneva after announcing peace talks for March via video link to the UN Security Council in New York, Mistura said that the ceasefire is being monitored by centers in the United States, Russia, and Geneva.

The first meeting of the Syrian ceasefire monitoring group was held in Geneva on Friday, a few hours before the ceasefire, to which the Syrian regime and about a hundred rebel groups committed, took effect.

The ceasefire was not accepted by the terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State, nor by the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda. The leader of Al Nusra announced new attacks on the regime.

Talks between Assad's regime and opposition rebel groups were canceled in early February due to a major offensive launched by Assad's army with the support of Russian airstrikes against the rebels.

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously called on all parties to the Syrian civil war to respect the terms of the US-Russian ceasefire agreement.

This request was included in a resolution jointly drafted by Russia and the US, calling on the government and the opposition to engage in UN-brokered peace talks.

(N1)