52 armed groups join Syrian truce

The number of armed groups complying with ceasefire terms in Syria has grown to 52, Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

With another armed group active in Syrian Homs Province joined Syrian ceasefire agreement in the past 24 hours, the number of groups complying with the reconciliation process has reached to 52, an information bulletin of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria said, TASS reported.

"An agreement to join the cessation of hostilities was signed with the presence of the group's representative in Damascus. The number of armed groups stating their commitment to accepting and complying with ceasefire terms now is 52," said the report posted on the website of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ceasefire in Syria has been generally observed, with nine violations reported in the past day, including four cases in the province of Damascus, four in the province of Latakia, and one incident in the province of Aleppo.

In the province of Latakia, gunmen from the Ahrar ash-Sham terrorist group which aligns itself with the opposition shelled the settlements of Sandran, Rasha, Safar and Shmaisa from multiple missile launcher systems and mortars.

Gunmen of another such a group, Jeish al-Islam, shelled from mortars a military hospital in the settlement of Harasta and positions of government forces in the settlements of Jobar, Marj al-Sultan and Arbil in the province of Damascus.

After preliminary bombardment, Ahrar ash-Sham gunmen made an attempt at an offensive against the Syrian army near Mount Jabal-Agam south of Aleppo. The offensive was repelled and the gunmen retreated to their initial positions having sustained losses.

No air strikes were delivered by the Russian air group and the Syrian air force at armed opposition group which have declared cessation of hostilities and referred their coordinates to the Russian or U.S. reconciliation centers, the bulletin says.

According to information reported to the Russian reconciliation center from local residents, the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group continues to concentrate its forces in northeastern regions of the province of Latakia, the bulletin says.

Apart from that, the city of Fua in the province of Idlib twice came under mortar, the Russian center said.

Turkey’s artillery shelled positions of the Syrian government forces from the vicinity of the settlement of Aluichak. No retaliation fire at the Turkish artillery positions followed, the Russian center said.

EA