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September 14, 2016 The Skanner Page 9 News By Bassem Mroue Associated Press BEIRUT — The Syrian cease-ire appeared to be holding on Tuesday de- spite sporadic and minor violations of the U.S. and Russian brokered truce, which is aimed at paving the way for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the revival of peace talks. The deal, hammered out by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov last week, oicially came into efect at sunset on Monday. The Syrian army said it would abide by the cease- ire until midnight Sun- day, while maintaining its right to defend itself against any violations. Syria’s largest in- surgent groups have expressed misgivings about the deal, which al- lows for strikes against al-Qaida-linked mili- tants who ight alongside the rebels. Jabhat Fatah “ is prevailing in all ar- eas,” said Ahmad al-Ma- salmeh, an opposition activist in the southern province of Daraa — where the 2011 uprising began. In the northern city of Aleppo, which has seen heavy ighting in recent months, opposition ac- tivists said rebel-held parts of the city were calm on Tuesday morn- ing but that many peo- ple were still hunkering down in their homes, fearful of going out. Aleppo-based activist Baraa al-Halaby said no aid deliveries, which are also part of the cease-ire deal, have yet entered the contested area. Syrian state news agen- cy SANA said rebels ired three shells at a govern- ment-held neighborhood in Aleppo. It also reported shell- ing near the Castello road, northwest of the city, and the Ramouseh area in the south — both The deal marks the second at- tempt this year to try reduce violence in war-torn Syria, where the 5 ½ year conlict has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half the country’s population of 11 million al-Sham, an al-Qaida- linked group previous- ly known as the Nusra Front, has denounced the agreement. The deal marks the sec- ond attempt this year to try reduce violence in war-torn Syria, where the 5 ½ year conlict has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half the country’s population of 11 million. A truce in late February collapsed weeks later. The irst week of the truce will be crucial. During that time, all ighting between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and the rebels is to stop. However, Assad’s forces can continue air- strikes against the Islam- ic State group and al-Qa- ida-linked militants. If the calm holds for seven days, the U.S. and Russian militaries would then set up a new cen- ter to coordinate strikes against IS and Jabhat Fa- tah al-Sham. Under the truce, As- sad’s forces are no lon- ger supposed to bomb Syria’s opposition. The Syrian air force has been dropping barrel bombs on civilian areas under the pretext of targeting militants. For the moment, “calm main arteries leading to Aleppo. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Syrian Ob- servatory for Human Rights, said there were minor violations in cen- tral Hama province. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, reported shelling in Aleppo and the southern region of Quneitra. Al-Manar TV, run by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, said Syrian troops struck a Nusra Front tank with a missile in Quneitra, without providing fur- ther details. Hezbollah is ighting alongside As- sad’s forces. The Britain-based Ob- servatory, which relies on a network of activ- ists inside Syria, said no one has been killed or wounded since the truce went into efect. Turkey’s state-run news agency said 20 U.N. trucks have let Turkey to deliver humanitar- ian aid to Aleppo. The Anadolu agency said the trucks let around noon, with a total of 40 trucks expected to cross the bor- der by the end of the day. The deal’s architects hope the cease-ire will pave the way for an extended period of re- straint that can serve as the foundation for peace talks. As the cease-ire came into efect, Ker- ry urged Syrian rebels to distance themselves from al-Qaida-linked militants. Russia is pushing to make public the text of the cease-ire deal, but Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that the U.S. op- poses such a move. Lavrov said Moscow “has nothing to hide” and wants the U.N. Secu- rity Council to formally approve the Syria truce deal as well. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com MODAR SHEKHO VIA AP Syria Cease-ire Holding, With Only Minor Violations Activists in Syria’s besieged Aleppo protest against the United Nations for what they say is its failure to lift the siege of their rebel-held area, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. Dozens of protesters marched in al-Shaar neighborhood heading toward the Castello road, the area from which aid is expected to be delivered. “Hunger better than humiliation,” one banner read. “X the UN,” another read.