Shuahadaa al-Islam Brigade, the main FSA group in Daraya west of Damascus, warned the Assad regime against breaking the truce that was declared in the town late on Tuesday, stressing the group would respond with full force to any breaches of the truce by regime forces.
An FSA commander in the Damascus suburb said that all the FSA groups in Daraya announced commitment to the truce.
A US-Russian brokered temporary truce began in Daraya and eastern Ghouta on Tuesday and is supposed to last for 72 hours.
President of the Syrian Coalition Anas Alabdah called upon the European Union to salvage the political process through reviving the cessation of hostilities agreement and playing a more active role in Syria.
In a meeting with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on Monday in Brussels, Alabdah said that Assad has destroyed Syria and is now seeking to undermine the truce and the whole political process as a result.
Alabdah urged the European Union to play a more active role in Syria as the EU is directly affected by the crises unfolding in Syria and the region.
Alabdah pointed out that the armed opposition in Syria announced it is committed to the truce with the aim of stopping the bloodshed and alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people.
Alabdah also pointed out that the terms of the truce allow for responding to the sources of fire and emphasizes the right to self-defense. He explained that the Free Syrian Army groups have the right to respond to the regime’s violations of the truce.
Alabdah also said that the FSA fighters preserve the right to attack regime positions from where attacks are launched against besieged areas, as this is enshrined in the truce and would not constitute a departure from the agreement.
Nearly 3,279 civilians, including 415 children and 282 women, have been killed in Syria since the UN-brokered “cessation of hostilities” agreement was announced on February 27 in bombardments by the Assad regime and Russian forces on the rebel-held areas. Despite the agreement, regime and Russian forces have committed nearly 55 massacres across Syria since February by targeting mainly civilian areas.
The Syrian Coalition’s Media Office said it had recorded about 3,000 breaches of the truce by regime forces, in addition to 250 more by Russian forces. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Smart News Agency)
