Syrian army declares 72-hours nationwide truce

The Syrian army has declared a unilateral 72-hour truce across conflict-stricken Syria on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan.

According to the reports, the General Command of the Syrian Army announced in a statement that the truce will enter force as of 1 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Wednesday and will be in effect until July 8 midnight.

The development came shortly after Syrian government forces, backed by allied fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, established control over the village of Maydaa, which is administratively part of the Douma district and lies east of the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian forces recaptured the strategic village following an intense exchange of fire with members of the so-called Jaysh al-Islam.

The monitoring group further said that scores of extremists were killed and injured in the process, while several others escaped the skirmishes. Syrian soldiers and Hezbollah fighters destroyed a considerable amount of weapons and munitions in the operation.

SS