A cease-fire in Syria brokered by the United States and Russia appeared to be holding on Tuesday, residents and activists said, bringing a rare period of calm and raising hopes that food and other aid would eventually reach hundreds of thousands of besieged Syrians.
The nationwide truce, which went into effect at sundown Monday, is the second major attempt by world powers to halt — or at least curb — the fighting that has killed nearly half a million people, decimated cities and infrastructure, and spawned a humanitarian crisis stretching from the Middle East to Europe.
It’s part of a broader deal between Washington and Moscow to eventually launch joint strikes on militants in Syria, and pave the way for a possible negotiated settlement to the five-year-old conflict that has had Russian and American forces on opposing sides.
The United States has backed some Syrian rebel factions battling the government, and is leading a coalition conducting airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in Syria. Russia has sent warplanes and troops to aid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
But it remains an open question whether the deal can keep violence in check.
Rebel groups have criticized the agreement for not imposing direct penalties for violations, and claim it could give Assad’s military a chance to try to expand its grip.
Mistrust between Washington and Moscow could also undermine the deal, said Cliff Kupchan, chairman of New York-based Eurasia Group, a political risk assessment firm.
“There’s plenty to be skeptical about,” said Kupchan. “And the chance that relief lasts more than a few months, at most, is low.”
Still, residents of rebel-held parts of Aleppo, a city devastated by the fighting, said their neighborhoods were quiet Tuesday. It was a welcome respite after months of Russian and Syrian airstrikes.
Opposition areas in Aleppo have been “de facto under siege,” with 275,000 residents almost “entirely cut off from vital supplies” like food, water and electricity, the United Nations said.
But on Tuesday, Aleppo residents breathed a sigh of relief — even if just temporarily.
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SOURCE: Erin Cunningham and Heba Habib
The Washington Post
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