Armed opposition groups breached the cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria eight times in 24 hours, raising the total number of beaches to 585 since the agreement came into effect on February 27, 2016, according to a statement by the Russian coordination center at Hmeimim airbase.
The center, which is tasked with observing the ceasefire, said on Sunday that all breaches were perpetrated in the Damascus suburbs where militants affiliated to the so-called Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) targeted a number of military posts in Madaya and Eastern Ghouta with mortar shells.
It added that Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front “continued attempts to foil the cessation of hostilities agreement by targeting military posts and residential neighborhoods with mortar rounds and rocket shells at the Handarat refugee camp, al-Nayrab airport, and [the] neighborhoods of al-Sheikh Maqsoud, al-Khalediya, and al-Ramousa in Aleppo as well as a number of towns in the northern countryside of Lattakia.”
The cessation of hostilities agreement does not include Nusra Front, the Islamic State and other groups listed by the United Nations as terrorist organizations.
The statement noted that the Syrian army had foiled attempts by Nusra militants to attack military posts in the Damascus countryside, killing many fighters and forcing them to retreat.
The Russian center added that the number of towns that joined the cessation of hostilities had reached 114 while the number of armed groups that have declared their commitment to the ceasefire agreement remained at 59.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
