A truce in Aleppo in northern Syria between government forces and rebels has been extended by 48 hours. The Army said this in a statement. The temporary truce was initially decided after fighting killed nearly 300 people since April 22 in Aleppo, where some areas are held by rebels and others by government forces. The announcement came as Russia and the United States agreed to boost efforts to find a political solution to Syria’s five-year war.
More than 2 lakh 70,000 people have been and millions displaced during the infighting. The two powers brokered a February 27 ceasefire between regime forces and the armed opposition. However, terror outfits such as the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate, Al-Nusra Front are not part of the ceasefire deal.
Meanwhile, representatives of Britain, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey and the European Union are in Paris to try to relaunch the Syrian peace process. Yesterday’s meeting of the Friends of Syria, an international diplomatic group, was to take place in the presence of Riad Hijab, head of the moderate Syrian opposition coalition.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had arrived in Paris for the talks and was to hold a meeting with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault. Kerry said Russia had also committed to limiting the Syrian government’s ability to fly over civilian areas.
