Russia and US agree 'regime of silence' to stem growing Syria violence
#SyriaWar
Deal to come into force from midnight on Friday and will include Aleppo, Latakia and suburbs of the capital Damascus
A boy grieves over the body of a relative in Aleppo 27 April 2016 (AFP)
MEE staff
Friday 29 April 2016 09:27 UTC
Last update:
Friday 29 April 2016 10:23 UTC
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Aleppo, Latakia, Damascus
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The US and Russia agreed a “regime of silence” to come into effect in Syria at midnight on Friday, Russian sources said on Friday after a previous ceasefire deal effectively broke down.
The deal will be implemented in suburbs of Damascus, the coastal city of Latakia and Aleppo, Russian sources told Sky News Arabia.
The source did not specify which groups will be included in the ceasefire deal - the previous deal excluded Islamic State and the Nusra Front, both of which are considered "terrorist" by the UN Security Council.
The "regime of silence" will last for 24 hours in Damascus and 72 hours in Latakia, diplomatic sources told the Russian RIA news agency.
The source did not mention how long a ceasefire could last in Aleppo, which is divided between government and rebel control and is currently the scene of some of the country's fiercest fighting.
The new deal comes after UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned on Thursday that a previous ceasefire that came into force in February was “barely alive” amid an escalation of violence in the northern city of Aleppo.
Civil defence units in the city said on Friday morning that a fresh round of air strikes had killed a child and two women in a rebel-held district.
During the past week, air strikes on rebel-held areas of the divided city have killed over 123 civilians, while at least 71 civilians were killed by rebel shelling on government-held districts, according to the British-based monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Government officials told AFP this week that they had been planning a "huge" offensive on Aleppo in the coming days, hoping to encircle the city and repel the "terrorists" in control of large areas of it.
The “regime of silence” deal announced on Friday morning will be overseen by Russia and the US, which are backing opposite sides in the entrenched war.
Ahead of the deal coming into force, violence appears to be continuing in Aleppo with Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting 20 air strikes on Friday morning.
A community health dispensary in the east of the city was reportedly destroyed in Friday morning's fighting.
News of the fresh ceasefire deal comes after the US on Thursday called on Russia, a key supporter of Syria's President Assad, to rein in its ally after a deadly strike hit a hospital in Aleppo.
The UN on Thursday slammed the attack - blamed on government forces - as "inexcusable” after the strike killed as many as 27 people, including the most qualified paediatrician in the city.
“There must be accountability for these crimes,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.
Washington on Thursday condemned what it said was a “deliberate strike on a known medical facility".
