Syrian opposition says government wrecking truce deal
A senior official from Syria's main opposition group said on February 29 that a fragile international attempt to halt nearly five years of fighting was in danger of collapse because of attacks by government forces.
The cessation of hostilities drawn up by Washington and Moscow faced "complete nullification" because Syrian government attacks were violating the agreement, the official of the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said.
France said there were reports of attacks on opposition forces in breach of the deal, which came into force on February 27, and countries backing the Syrian peace process met to try to clarify the situation.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the pause in the fighting was largely holding, despite some incidents that he hoped would be contained. The Kremlin said the process was under way, although it had always been clear it would not be easy.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said efforts were being made to track down alleged violations but that there was currently no evidence to suggest it would destabilize the fragile peace.
The cessation deal does not include jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Russia, which is backing the Syrian government with air power, has made clear it intends to keep bombing those groups.
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An aide to Saudi Arabia's defense minister said on February 29, that defense ministers from the US-led coalition against Islamic State had discussed the possibility of a Syrian ground incursion two weeks ago in Brussels.
"It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission," Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told Reuters. "Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that."
The cessation of hostilities agreement, the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire. It is meant to allow peace talks to resume and aid to reach besieged communities.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was largely holding, with casualties greatly reduced compared with before the agreement took effect.
But Syrian forces made some gains. The Observatory reported they had taken territory near Damascus on February 29 after a battle with the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels.
Syrian government forces also regained control of a road to the northern city of Aleppo after making advances against Islamic State fighters.
