All eyes are on Syria as the U.S. and Russian-backed cease-fire goes into effect today at 12:00pm (EDT) and is meant to last for the entire week. The Syrian army announced today a seven-day truce.
President Bashar Assad has promised his government will abide by the terms of the cease-fire, however, no confirmation yet if some major rebel groups will follow suit.
Assad spoke in the now-deserted city of Daraya after the government retook control from the rebels. Despite agreeing to the seven-day cease-fire, the president has promised to “retake every area from the terrorists.”
Most rebel groups have agreed to stop the fighting, but one notable Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham, did not make it official. Also, fighting continued Monday morning and human rights watchers have said there are no signs that the conflict will temporarily end for the week.
If the cease-fire proves to be successful, groups are hopeful this will lead to continued peace agreements next month.
So far, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in the civil war that has lasted five years.