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| Russia says truce in Syria's Aleppo extended for 3 days | |
| 2016-05-08 | |
| A fragile cease-fire in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo has been extended for 72 hours, Russia The Russian Defense Ministry said the extension was made at Moscow's initiative and would also apply to the coastal province of Latakia. The ceasefire will now last until 12:01 am. on Tuesday (2101GMT Monday). Russia and the US last week reached an agreement to extend Syria's ceasefire to Aleppo, which had seen days of heavy fighting that killed 286 civilians, including 57 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor. The Syrian military had earlier said the ceasefire in Aleppo would last only 48 hours. The Russian military accused the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate, known as the Nusra Front, of attempting to destroy the ceasefire by carrying out attacks on Aleppo and trying to impose a blockade on the city from the south. On Friday, a coalition of insurgents, including the Nusra Front, seized the nearby village of Khan Touman from pro-government forces, activists said. The Nusra Front and Daesh are not included in the ceasefire.
The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, said Daesh captured two villages in the region in clashes that killed least 12 militants. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run collective, said the fighting is now concentrated near the northern villages of Dalha, Harjaleh and Hiwar Kilis. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |