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Syrian military joins US, Russia-brokered Aleppo truce

Wednesday, 04 May 2016 8:52 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 04 May 2016 9:16 PM ]

Syrian emergency personnel secure a street after rockets fired by militants hit al-Dabbeet hospital in government-controlled neighborhood of Muhafaza in the northwestern city of Aleppo on May 3, 2016. (AFP)

The Syrian army has announced that it will join a two-day truce in the northwestern province of Aleppo.

“The Syrian military says it will respect a 48-hour Aleppo truce after Russia and the US agreed to extend a cessation of hostilities in Syria to the province,” said a statement issued by the Damascus's army command on Wednesday.

The statement added that it would take effect at 1 a.m. local time on Thursday.

Earlier, Washington and Moscow agreed on extending a shaky ceasefire they had brokered in February to Aleppo, which has been divided between government forces in the west and militants in the east since 2012.

US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner announced that since the ceasefire went into effect "on Wednesday at 00:01 Damascus time," there has been an "overall decrease in violence in these areas."

US officials say they were looking into the discrepancy between the announced starting dates of the temporary ceasefire.

"To ensure this continues in a sustainable way, we are coordinating closely with Russia to finalize enhanced monitoring efforts of this renewed cessation," he added.

*Syrians look at the damage after rockets fired by militants hit al-Dabbeet hospital in the government-controlled neighborhood of Muhafaza in the northwestern city of Aleppo on May 3, 2016. (AFP)*

The announcement has been hailed by Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who has called on all concerned parties to observe the ceasefire in full and give Aleppo’s people "a respite from war and violence."

He added that observing the truce would also be an "important basis" for resuming upcoming peace talks in Geneva.

The latest round of the UN-brokered indirect negotiations, which began in Geneva on April 13, were brought to a halt after the main foreign-backed opposition group, known as the High Negotiations Committee, (HNC) walked out of the discussions to protest what it called the Syrian government’s violation of the ceasefire.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has also displaced over half of the Arab country's pre-war population of about 23 million.

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