Ceasefire comes into effect across Syria

The nationwide Syrian ceasefire went into effect at 7 p.m. local time (1600 UTC) under an agreement announced on Friday by the United States and Russia.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is monitoring the conflict in Syria through a network of sources on the ground, told Reuters news agency that "calm is prevailing," though director Rami Abdulrahman said there had been shelling by both government and rebel forces in the country's northwest.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also said fighting seemed to have been reduced, but warned against over-optimism.

"The earliest reports are that there is some reduction in violence as well as a few reports of fighting here and there, though it is far too early to draw any definitive conclusions," he told reporters at the State Department.

The truce is the second attempt this year by Washington and Moscow to halt fighting in the five-year-long civil war pitting the Syrian regime under President Bashar al-Assad against an array of rebel groups ranging from moderates to Islamist extremists.

Russia has long been an ally of Assad, and has been supporting his forces with airstrikes. The United States, for its part, backs some of what it deems "moderate" rebels fighting to topple the president.

'Regime of calm'

The agreement aims first and foremost to allow humanitarian access to civilians trapped by the fighting, particularly in the beleaguered city of Aleppo. It is also to facilitate joint US-Russian operations against jihadi groups, including "Islamic State" (IS) and former al Qaeda ally Fateh al-Sham, who are not covered under the deal.

Russia has said that the initial 48-hour ceasefire could be renewed for another 48 hours at a time if it was successful. A senior Russian official said that while Moscow would observe the truce, it would still bomb groups deemed "terrorist."

The Syrian army said a seven-day "regime of calm" would be established across the country, but that it reserved the right to respond to any violation by "armed groups."

Rebel groups have yet to formally state whether they will observe the truce, but some rebel sources have indicated that they will.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged all sides to respect the ceasefire, calling the US-Russian deal "at least a halfway realistic chance to finally get help to the war-stricken people of Syria."

Extreme vow

Just hours before the ceasefire took effect, President Assad pledged to take back the entire country, making no mention of the truce.

Speaking in an interview broadcast by state media from Daraya, a Damascus suburb retaken from rebels by government forces, he said the Syrian state was "determined to recover every area from the terrorists."

He added that the army would continue its work "without hesitation, regardless of any internal or external circumstance."

His remarks might well fuel the skepticism already expressed by Syria's opposition and rebels as to whether the government will abide by the truce deal.

Syria's civil war has killed more than 290,000 people and displaced many more since it erupted in 2011. Several rounds of peace efforts have so far failed to put an end to the conflict.

tj/rc (AFP, Reuters, AP)