Syria's fragile truce continues, amid fresh progress

Syria's fragile cessation of hostilities was largely holding on Monday, with progress made on the military and humanitarian aspect amid new political prospects, according to media reports. Three days into the US-Russia-backed truce, the capital Damascus was largely peaceful on Monday, with no shelling sound or known military operations. The truce, which started on Saturday, has reflected an international will to build a momentum to resolve Syria's nearly five years of conflict. Still, as the truce excludes the Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front, clashes continued against those groups on several fronts, mainly in the northern province of Aleppo. Last week, the IS cut off the only road connecting the government-controlled parts of Aleppo with other Syrian provinces in the central and the southern region. The attack severed Aleppo completely from other cities, pushing the government forces to unleash a counter-offensive to recapture the road. A Syrian military source declared on Monday that the Syrian Armed Forces have completely restored the road to Aleppo "after eliminating the last gathering of the IS." On the humanitarian level, Muhannad al-Assadi, a media spokesman of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, told Xinhua that as many as 51 aid trucks entered the town of Muadamiyeh near Damascus on Monday, the first shipment to enter the town since the ceasefire began on Saturday, and the third this month. Entering relief aid to besieged areas across the country was a main international demand along with the cessation of hostilities plan. Meanwhile, the exiled opposition renewed accusations that Syrian government forces were breaching the truce in some areas. Riad Hijab, the opposition's general coordinator, wrote a letter to the UN secretary-general detailing the alleged breaches of the truce, saying his group recorded breaches of the agreement in 26 different areas of Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Monday it monitored seven breaches of the truce by the militant groups over the past 24 hours, "including an attack by terrorists of l-Nusra Front through using artillery against units of popular protection in the surroundings of al-Ashrafiyah town in Aleppo countryside." Russia said the IS was targeting the road connecting the central province of Hama and Aleppo, which "obstructs the delivering of humanitarian aid to the residents of Aleppo and neighboring cities." UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said "every time there has been an incident, that has been -- so far -- contained." However, he did not specify how many incidents have been reported. "We could have had much worse news, frankly," de Mistura said, adding if the truce continued, it "would be a major booster in confidence-building and trust." "The first gesture of believing in each other, or at least believing that there is a nonmilitary solution, is the reduction of violence," he said. The UN envoy further said the International Task Force, co-chaired by Moscow and Washington, was set to meet Monday afternoon in Geneva to evaluate allegations of a range of breaches. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said Monday that there have been some incidents but the ceasefire was generally holding. "As of now I can tell you that by and large the cessation of hostilities is holding even though we have experienced some incidents," he told reporters in Geneva on Monday. Also, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, said the cease-fire in Syria is "largely holding," expressing some concerns about the Russian military buildup in Syria. Making the comments on a visit to Kuwait on Monday, Stoltenberg said "We are concerned about the significant Russian military buildup we have seen in Syria, with the ground troops, with the naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean and with air forces conducting airstrikes and so far they have mainly targeted not IS but other opposition groups." Aside from monitoring the breaches, a Russian official made new remarks on Monday, with a clue of what Russia may think about the future of Syria. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a news briefing on Monday that Syria could become a federal state if that model works in the country. Syria has yet to comment on the fresh Russian remarks, but the government always maintains that any change in Syria must be subject to the choice of the Syrian people only.