Rights group reports airstrikes in Syria

The cease-fire aims to bring representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition back to the negotiating table in Geneva for talks on a political transition.

Part of the reason for that skepticism: the deal doesn’t include ISIS (which controls major portions of Syria) and the al-Qaida-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra. IS is reported to have said it carried it out.

There were also reports of Syrian helicopters dropping barrel bombs. An Aleppo-based opposition media collective, Aleppo24, said Russian warplanes left Aleppo skies at 12:19 a.m. The report could not be independently confirmed. Calm also prevailed in large parts of the central province of Homs, according to Mohammed al-Sibai, who is based in the province. But he said the frontline was quieter than before.

“The situation yesterday was very bad and fighting was intense”, al-Masalmeh said.

In the hours leading up to the scheduled pause in fighting, airstrikes continued to target rebel positions in the Damascus suburbs and near Aleppo, The Associated Press reported.

“This will remain a complicated, painstaking process, ” he told the council.

“There are areas where the bombardment has stopped but there are areas where there are violations by the regime such as Kafr Zeita in Hama, via targeting with artillery, and likewise in Morek in northern Hama countryside”, he said, adding that FSA groups remain committed to the truce.

“We do anticipate we’re going to encounter some speed bumps along the way”, Earnest said.

Some gunfire had been heard shortly after midnight in the northern city of Aleppo, and there were some blasts heard in northern Homs province, but it was not clear what had caused them, Abdulrahman said.

“Negotiations are the ones conducted on the battlefield”, he said in an audio message.

“It’s as if they want to subdue rebels in these regions or score points before the ceasefire”, remarked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Abdel Rahman as quoted by Daily Mail.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force. At least 250,000 people have been killed over the course of the five conflict – with some monitoring groups on the ground reporting that the figure could be as high as 470,000.

In the flashpoint rebel town of Daraya, west of Damascus, the local council told AFP there was no shelling on Saturday morning. The village is controlled by several groups including Nusra Front.

Bayoush said it was normal for violations to take place in any truce but the other side should halt them if it was serious about the agreement.

“Opposition rebels, several groups working together, were so entrenched here that the Syrian army couldn’t advance”, Palmer said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to each other on Saturday to express support for the implementation of the ceasefire and to discuss ways of supporting it through cooperation between their militaries, Russia’s foreign ministry said. “So it is important that pressure is put on the regime and Russian Federation to comply with it”.

“The coming days will be critical and the world will be watching”, he added.

Moscow and Washington, co-chairs of the task force, have set up rival offices to oversee the truce along with a United Nations operation centre and would be first to deal with any infractions.