Syria declares Eid ceasefire, but will respond to attacks

Damascus, October 26: Syria's army command said it will suspend military operations to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, declaring a ceasefire from Friday morning to Monday.


However, it said it reserved the right to respond to rebel attacks and bombings. Also, the Syrian army will respond to "terrorist groups trying to reinforce their positions by arming themselves and getting reinforcements" as well as neighbouring countries facilitating the smuggling of fighters across borders during that period.

Further, a Free Syrian Army commander said on Thursday rebels will honour a ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha but demanded the release of detainees by Friday. However, the spokesman of Islamist Ansar al-Islam, Abu Moaz, said his fighters will not commit to the ceasefire brokered by U.N.-Arab mediator Lakhdar Brahimi. Abu Moaz also said the fighters doubt the government will honour the truce.

Meanwhile, rebels seized two northern districts in Syria's largest city Aleppo on Thursday, activists said. "We have just liberated Ashrafiyeh and the Syriac quarter," a rebel fighter said, referring to areas which had been held by Kurdish militias and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Rebels were still fighting around the Rahman Mosque district and trying to besiege a security building, he added.

Activists said at least 14 people were killed. It was not clear if the dead were fighters or civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group monitoring the Syrian conflict, said Kurdish units were still fighting to stop the rebels from entering Ashrafiyeh. Battles have engulfed Aleppo since late July, but a stalemate had developed, with snipers restricting movement of fighters and the two sides largely entrenched on frontlines.

Assad's government was expected to make a statement later in the day on whether it accepts the temporary ceasefire advocated by UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. Syrian authorities said on Wednesday they were still studying the plan, but Russia's envoy to the United Nations said Damascus had indicated to Moscow that it would agree to it.