Syrian army extends cease-fire in Aleppo by 48 hours

The Syrian army announced on Monday extending a cease-fire in the northern city of Aleppo for additional 48 hours, state news agency SANA reported.

The fresh extension will start as of Tuesday morning, said the statement, adding that the truce, otherwise named as "regime of calm," excludes the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

The extension came as part of the original truce that went into force for 48 hours on Thursday, and extended on Saturday for additional 72 hours.

The military statement noted that the rebels in Aleppo have violated the truce over the past few days, by firing mortar shells into residential areas in the government-controlled part west of Aleppo.

The U.S.-Russia-backed truce in Aleppo came to bring a lull to the troubled city that has witnessed the most violent shelling from the rebels on government-controlled areas.

Opposition activists also accused Syrian warplanes of striking rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the city.

The "regime of silence" has previously been announced to include areas in the countryside of the capital Damascus and the northwestern province of Latakia.

Source: XINHUA