Syria’s shaky truce holds on second day

War planes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bombed seven villages in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It was unclear if the raids hit areas covered by the truce. 

The agreement does not include territory held by the Islamic State jihadist group and Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, which together control more than half of Syrian land. According to Abdel Rahman, only one of the villages, Kafr Hamra in Aleppo province, is controlled by Al-Nusra and the others are in the hands of non-jihadist rebels. Elsewhere the situation remained mostly calm, said reports. 

In Aleppo, Syria’s second city, the night passed without any sound of fighting or air raids, a correspondent said. Residents took to the streets to do their shopping. 

“There’s something strange in this silence,” said Abu Omar, a baker. Streets in Damascus were also bustling. The temporary truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial step towards ending a conflict that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population. 

Russia, which has waged nearly five months of intense air strikes in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said on Saturday it had halted bombing in all areas covered by the truce. Its coordination centre registered nine violations of ceasefire in Syria in the past 24 hours, Russian news agencies quoted the head of the centre as saying on Sunday. The centre’s Sergei Kuralenko added, however, that the cessation of hostilities was holding “in general”.