Fighting rages in Aleppo hours after Syrian peace deal

Syria’s moderate Free Syrian Army said they saw little chance of the deal’s success, with a spokesman for one of its brigades saying that Damascus and Moscow had not observed the last agreement so were unlikely to observe this one.

Russian Federation is a main backer of Assad’s government while the US has been supporting rebel groups trying to remove him from power.

Earlier, it was reported that airstrikes on Idlib have killed at least 24 people.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30 people were killed in Aleppo province and another 39 were killed by airstrikes in neighboring Idlib province.

The UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura described the deal as a “window of opportunity”, and said he would discuss with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when stalled political negotiations can restart.

Syria’s civil war has left almost half a million people dead, created the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War and allowed IS to gain a territorial foothold in the country. Insurgents said they were planning a counter offensive.

Mr Lavrov said the deal would allow efficient co-operation in the struggle against terrorism, and expand humanitarian access to Syria’s worst-hit towns and cities.

But only hours after it was announced, Syria’s army attacked rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, both sides said, as the military pushed to maximize gains before the ceasefire deadline.

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, which is taking part in Syria’s civil war, says it supports the cease-fire but vows to continue fighting against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida’s affiliate.

A senior member of the main Syrian opposition umbrella group said Saturday it hopes a new U.S.

Basma Kodmani, of the High Negotiations Committee, told the AP that Russian Federation should pressure Assad’s government to abide by the agreement reached early Saturday.

Only if commitments by Moscow and the Assad regime to cease violence for seven days are “fully met” will the United States and Russian Federation start cooperating with joint strikes, the Pentagon said in a statement following the announcement. She said mechanisms will be needed for the enforcement of the deal, including the “cessation of hostilities and the grounding (of) regime air forces”. It is scheduled to go into effect at sundown Monday.

Standing by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a day of marathon talks in Geneva, Kerry said he believed the plan would lead to talks to “stop the conflict”.

And Syria expert Charles Lister said mainstream opposition fighters had not indicated a willingness to break their alliance with powerful hardliners, which they see as “a military necessity”.

The two powers back opposing sides in the conflict, with Moscow supporting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and Washington backing a coalition of rebels it regards as moderate.

The airstrikes in Idlib and Aleppo are believed to have been mounted by government jets or those of allied Russian Federation.

“We have holy warriors who will burn the ground”, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.