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

A 72-hour truce was announced on Wednesday in all Syrian cities by the General Command of the Syrian Army to mark the three-day holiday of the Eid ul-Fitr feast, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, local media reported.

The nationwide ceasefire goes into effect as of July 6 to July 8, Xinhua news agency reported.

Previous truces, which were backed by Russia and the US, were established in areas near Damascus, and northern province of Aleppo.

It is not yet clear how the new nationwide truce, the first in such a big scope, will hold amid a complicated conflict, where several rebel groups are involved. The Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group were expected to be excluded from the new truce akin to the previous ones.

--IANS

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