Clashes erupt near Damascus despite truce

Despite reports of intermittent fighting and anti-government protests across Syria, overall the nationwide ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey appears to be holding.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported fighting early on Friday between troops and rebels in the central province of Hama and near the capital, Damascus, but said there have been no reports of civilian casualties since the truce began.

The SOHR, a UK-based information office that has been documenting human-rights abuses in Syria since 2011, also reported an aerial attack on the rebel-held Wadi Barada Valley near Damascus.

Mazen al-Shami, an opposition activist from the Damascus suburb of Douma, said minor clashes nearby left one rebel fighter wounded.

Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an activist in the southern Deraa province, said government forces had opened fire on rebel-held areas.

Several past UN-backed attempts at halting the fighting in Syria have failed.

‘Major breakthrough’

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Turkey’s Gaziantep near the Syria border, said sporadic clashes in some areas were reported just hours after the ceasefire.

However, the fact that it is largely holding amounts to a "major breakthrough" and could pave the way for a final political settlement, he said.

"There are some sporadic clashes around Damascus in Souq Wadi Barada and Deraa and in Aleppo, but activists operating on the ground say calm still prevails, which is a significant development," he said.

Russia announced on Thursday the deal was signed by seven of Syria’s major rebel factions, though none of them immediately confirmed it, and one denied signing it.

As with the previous agreements, the current ceasefire excludes the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which fights alongside other rebel factions, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Assad-Putin conversation

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the ceasefire will be guaranteed by both his country and Turkey.

And on Friday Russian officials said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had conveyed his commitment to observing the truce during a phone call with Putin.

Assad is reported to have agreed that the planned peace talks in Kazakhstan would be an "important step" to resolving the crisis.

Assad also met a joint delegation from the European and Russian parliaments although it is not clear if the meeting came before or after Thursday’s deal was announced.

Russia and Iran provide crucial military support to Assad, while Turkey has long served as a rear base and source of supplies for the rebels.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, called the ceasefire a "major achievement" on Twitter on Friday.

"Let’s build on it by tackling the roots of extremist terror," he said.

Qatar, which backs the rebels, has also offered its full support for the ceasefire.

Nevertheless, Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’ foreign minister, also called for continued dialogue and cautioned against air strikes by the Syrian government.

The ceasefire came on the heels of a Russian-Turkish agreement earlier this month to evacuate the last rebels from eastern Aleppo after they were confined to a tiny enclave by a government offensive.

The retaking of all of Aleppo marked Assad’s greatest victory since the start of the 2011 uprising against his family’s four-decade rule.

"The defeat of the terrorists in Aleppo is an important step toward ending the war," Assad said in an interview with TG5, an Italian TV station, adding that the capture of the city does not mean that the war has ended because "terrorists" are still in Syria.

US isolated

The US was left out of both agreements, reflecting the deterioration of relations between Russia and the US after the failure of previous diplomatic efforts on Syria.

Assad told TG5 "we are more optimistic, with caution", about the incoming administration of Donald Trump, who has suggested greater cooperation with Russia against armed groups.

"We can say part of the optimism could be related to better relation between the US and Russia," Assad said, speaking in English.

"Mr Trump, during his campaign - (said) that his priority is fighting terrorism, and we believe that this is the beginning of the solution, if he can implement what he announced," Assad said in the interview, which was apparently filmed before the ceasefire was announced.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency quoted the military as saying Russia carried out three air strikes against ISIL targets near the northern town of Al Bab, where Turkish troops and allied Syrian opposition forces have been battling the armed group also known as ISIS.

The strikes indicated that Russia and Turkey may work together to combat ISIL once the fighting elsewhere in Syria has been halted.

The Turkish military statement quoted by Anadolu did not say when the Russian air strikes took place, but said they killed 12 ISIL fighters.

Separately, 26 ISIL fighters, including some senior commanders, were killed in Turkish air strikes on Al Bab and the Daglabash region, and about 17 ISIL targets were destroyed, Anadolu reported.

It said a Turkish soldier was killed in an ISIL attack on troops south of Al Azrak area.

Turkey sent troops and tanks into northern Syria in August to help opposition forces clear a border area of ISIL fighters and curb the advances of US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters, who are also battling ISIL.

Source: Al Jazeera