Syria Crisis: Aleppo Truce Extended by 48 Hours
Local Editor
A cease-fire in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and its surrounding countryside has been extended for the third time Monday.
At night, a couple of hours before an earlier truce was set to expire, the Syrian army announced that a cease-fire in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and its surrounding countryside has been extended for the third time, for another 48 hours, starting at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning.
And in a broader push for peace, the United States and Russia said they would work to revive a February "cessation of hostilities" agreement which reduced fighting in parts of the country for several weeks.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said all parties had to press the sides they back to turn "words on a piece of paper" into actions to reinstate the truce.
Russia and the US said in a joint statement they would step up efforts to persuade both parties to abide by the cessation of hostilities agreement.
"We have decided to reconfirm our commitment to the [cessation of hostilities] in Syria and to intensify efforts to ensure its nationwide implementation," they said. "We demand that parties cease any indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including civilian infrastructure and medical facilities."
Visiting Paris, Kerry said a reduction of violence in line with the US-Russian joint statement depended on field commanders as well as interested parties including the US.
The US-Russian joint statement said Moscow would work with Syrian authorities "to minimize aviation operations over areas that are predominantly inhabited by civilians or parties to the cessation."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
