Eid ceasefire 'takes effect' in Syria

Syria's army command has said it is suspending military operations to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, declaring a ceasefire from Friday morning to Monday.

As serious doubts remain about the prospects of the four-day ceasefire, the army said on Thursday it reserved the right to respond to rebel attacks and bombings, in a statement broadcast on state television

The military will also "respond to terrorist groups trying to reinforce their positions by arming themselves and getting reinforcements", as well as neighbouring countries facilitating the smuggling of fighters across borders during the ceasefire.

It was proposed by UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who hopes it will lead to a peace process.

The truce began at 06:00 (04:00 GMT), reported Syrian TV. Previous attempts at ceasefires in Syria have collapsed.

On Thursday rebels advanced into central areas of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a key battleground.

Some rebel commanders said they would observe the truce, but only if the regime held its fire. Others said it meant little on the ground.

There were no immediate reports of violence as the ceasefire period began. Syrian state TV showed footage of President Assad attending a mosque for morning prayers.

The US welcomed the ceasefire, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped it would lead to political negotiations.

The UN refugee agency said it was standing by to send emergency supplies to thousands of families in previously inaccessible areas if the ceasefire took hold.

The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, made a rare public appearance on Friday morning, praying at a Damascus mosque to mark the start of the Eid holiday.

Just after the government's announcement, a commander in the opposition Free Syrian Army told the Reuters news agency that its fighters would commit to the truce, but demanded the release of opposition prisoners on Friday.

"What we are hoping and expecting is that they will not just talk the talk of ceasefire, but that they will walk the walk, beginning with the regime," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The truce was brokered by Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League joint envoy, who said that the ceasefire could lead to a longer truce and political negotiations between the sides.

Some 1.2 million people inside Syria are in need of emergency humanitarian aid, according to the UN, which aims to distribute non-food aid packages to 500,000 people by the end of the year.

The latest developments came as violence in the country showed no signs of abating.

In the northern city of Aleppo, rebels moved into a Kurdish district on Thursday and clashed with troops as mortar fire killed at least nine people in the strategic area, residents said.

In the northeastern province of Raqa, rebels reportedly took control of a military post in a dawn raid, killing three soldiers and seizing arms and equipment, including a tank.

Regime forces meanwhile bombed rebel bastions northeast of the capital Damascus, where three rebels were killed in street fighting and three civilians died in artillery shelling.

Fighting also erupted in Damascus' southern districts of Qadam and Tadamun, where a car bomb killed eight people on Wednesday, as shells rained on the town of Daraya further south.

In the central province of Homs, three girls - all civilians - were killed as the army pummelled rebel-held Rastan and the Khaldiyeh district in Homs city.
Two civilians were killed in sniper fire and shelling elsewhere in the province, activists said.