DAMASCUS, Syria — Sporadic violence persisted in Aleppo on Wednesday as U.S. officials announced an agreement had been reached with Russia to extend Syria’s fragile cease-fire to the deeply contested northern city. The Syrian military said the truce would last only 48 hours.
Restoration of a partial truce would bring relief to residents on both sides of Syria’s largest city after two weeks of relentless violence that has killed nearly 300 people, destroyed hospitals and brought it to the brink of humanitarian disaster.
It was not immediately clear whether the new effort will be observed or for how long. The U.S. and Russia finalized a nationwide cease-fire in late February, but they have struggled to make it stick.
The agreement was reached late Tuesday and took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday Damascus time (5 a.m. MDT), Secretary of State John Kerry said.
Since the truce began, “we have seen an overall decrease in violence … even though there are some reports of continued fighting in some locations, which does not surprise us because it only went into effect one minute after midnight,” Kerry said.
The U.S. and Russia have been working to salvage the cease-fire they brokered together, which held surprisingly well until two weeks ago amid an alarming uptick of violence around Aleppo.
