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Eid Ceasefire in Syria: Expectations, Mystery And Doubts | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Damaged buildings and debris in Deir al-Zor, June 13, 2013.Picture taken June 13, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi


Beirut-The Eid ceasefire that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart John Kerry agreed on last week is expected to go into effect on Monday at 7:00 p.m. Syria time, amid a state of expectations, mystery and doubts.

Until Sunday night, opposition factions were still undecided on whether they accept or reject the deal.

The factions seemed to have some reservations on the U.S.-Russian ceasefire announcement in light of disputes concerning the Syrian regime’s continuous attack on civilians, the file of Fatah al-Sham Front (previously al-Nusra Front), and the level of the regime’s seriousness in respecting the truce.

A leading military source at the Free Syrian Army (FSA) told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the factions had agreed on taking a position that represents all its groups.

“A document was circulated among the factions to be signed either by rejecting the deal, by accepting it, or by noting their reservations,” the source said.

He added that those factions close to the U.S. would probably “note their reservations on some items of the deal.”

The Syrian regime, which is backed by Russia, has already announced that it supports a ceasefire. Iran has also welcomed it.

FSA military commander Abu Ahmed al-Asimi said that the official position of the opposition “has yet to be determined.”

The opposition says it hasn’t yet received the official copy of the deal to study it in detail before announcing its official position.

Al-Asimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that many factions reject the deal while some of them believe a ceasefire must be respected for “humanitarian purposes.”

The FSA military commander described the deal as a “trap.”

On Sunday, regime forces and some opposition factions continued fighting with a hope to keep enhancing their positions before the ceasefire goes into effect.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that fighting took place around Aleppo and Damascus while regime forces advanced in mountainous areas, northwest of the country.