GNAYMIYA /Syria/, March 2. /TASS/. A group of more than 30 Russian and foreign journalists have visited the village of Gnaymiya, in Syria’s Latakia province, recaptured from the militants at the end of January.
The media were able to see for themselves the delivery of humanitarian aid to the village located 20 kilometers away from the border with Turkey. Before the beginning of hostilities Gnaymiya had a predominantly Armenian population. The local old church was strongly damaged during the conflict.
"When truce was declared, no more than twenty five people remained in the village. These days we can see ever more people return to their homes. Three tonnes of relief aid has been delivered to the village and more will be brought, if need be," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told the media.
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When humanitarian supplies were delivered to Gnaymiya, local residents already numbered 150. Most of them returned home when truce took effect.
Syrian military told the media the ceasefire regimen was basically observed.
"As you can see for yourself, nobody is shooting. Our side will observe it. There have been some insignificant violations. Militants fired machine-gun rounds last night," said Syrian General Hesham Gayar.
Truce in Syria took effect on February 27 at midnight Damascus time. The ceasefire does not apply to the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (both organizations outlawed in Russia as terrorist) and other groups declared as terrorist by the UN Security Council.