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Syrian army extends nationwide truce for another 72 hours: State media

Saturday, 09 July 2016 2:54 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 09 July 2016 2:59 PM ]

Women walk past damaged buildings along a street in the militant-held town of Da'il, in Dara'a Governorate, Syria, July 7, 2016. © Reuters

The Syrian army has extended a three-day nationwide ceasefire that expired on Friday for another 72 hours, state media report.

The military high command said, in a statement, on Saturday that "a regime of calm will be extended for a period of 72 hours from one o'clock on July 9.”

The previous 72-hour truce, which was declared by the Syrian army on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, ran up to midnight on July 8.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan — the ninth month on the Islamic calendar — when Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured from dawn to dusk.

The unilateral truce, however, led to no noticeable decrease in violence. On Friday night, foreign-backed Takfiri militants launched several mortar attacks against two residential areas in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, killing over two dozen people and wounding more than 100 others.

At least 30 civilians, including four children, were killed and 140 others sustained injuries as the Takfiris fired rockets at Furqan and Sukan neighborhoods in Aleppo city.

The truce extension comes as the Syrian army has been making fresh gains against foreign-sponsored terrorists.

Syrian army soldiers patrol a street in Aleppo's Khalidiyah area where the army progressed towards the industrial zone of Layramoun and Bani Zeid on June 28, 2016. ©AFP

Earlier on Saturday, government troops, backed by allied forces, took control of Maydaa town, following two weeks of fierce clashes with the so-called Jaysh al-Islam terror group.

Maydaa served as a supply line to the militant-held East Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus.

Also on Thursday, government forces cut the only way into militant-held parts of Aleppo, severing the terrorists’ only lifeline from the city to the outside world.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The United Nations (UN)’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

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