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Syria marks Eid al-Fitr with 72-hour truce nationwide

Xinhua, July 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

The General Command of the Syrian Army announced on Wednesday a 72-hour truce in all Syrian cities, local media reported.

The nationwide ceasefire goes into effect as of July 6 until midnight July 8, the military statement said.

The regime of silence truce came apparently to mark the three-day holiday of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr feast, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Previous truces, which were backed by Russia and the United States, have been established in areas near the capital Damascus, and northern province of Aleppo.

However, several breaches were reported, in which the government accused the rebels.

The previous truce is largely holding near Damascus, but abjectly failed in Aleppo.

It's not yet clear how the new nationwide truce, the first in such a big scope, will hold amid a complicated conflict, where tens of rebel groups are involved, including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) group, which are expected to be excluded from the new truce akin to the previous ones. Endit