Syrian troops held their fire on Thursday after a UN-backed ceasefire deadline passed, giving respite to rebellious towns that have suffered heavy bombardments, but international envoy Kofi Annan pressed Damascus to pull its forces back entirely. Activists said the deadline passed without reports of major violence, just hours after Syria promised to observe the halt in fighting. The truce deadline was 6am Thursday. But there were only dim hopes for an abrupt end to the bloodshed. “Syria is apparently experiencing a rare moment of calm on the ground,” Annan said in a statement as he briefed a United Nations Security Council which has been divided along Cold War lines by the 13-month crisis at the heart of the Middle East.