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Russian reconciliation center reports three ceasefire violations in Syria in past day

The number of Syrian opposition armed groups that have joined the cessation of hostilities remains unchanged - 64, as follows from the bulletin

MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Russian monitors reported three ceasefire violations in Syria in the past day and confirmed only one out of 22 violations reported by Turkish specialists, the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria said in its regular daily news bulletin posted on the official website of the Russian defense ministry on Sunday.

"During the day, Russian officers in the Russian-Turkish joint commission set up to monitor ceasefire violations in Syria reported three ceasefire violations, including two in the province of Damascus, and one in the province of Hama," the center said.

Turkish officers reported seven ceasefire violations, three - in the province of Damascus, one - in the province of Daraa, one - in the province of Latakia, and one - in the province of Hama, the center said, adding that the Russian side found no confirmation to any of them.

The number of Syrian opposition armed groups that have joined the cessation of hostilities remains unchanged - 64, as follows from the bulletin.

Reconciliation of conflicting parties

During the day, a reconciliation agreement was signed with the settlement of Al Suemra in the province of al-Suwayda. The overall number of Syrian settlements that have joined the reconciliation process has reached 1,341, the center said.

Talks on joining cessation of hostilities were continued with armed opposition groups in the provinces of Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Homs and al-Quneitra. The overall number of armed groups that declared their commitment to the ceasefire terms of the agreement on cessation of hostilities of February 27, 2016 remains unchanged - 135.

According to the bulletin, Syria’s government troops regained control of an area of 19.8 square kilometers during the day. In all, an overall area of 3,086.5 square kilometers has been liberated since January 1, 2017. The number of settlements liberated by Syrian government troops from Islamic State groups remains unchanged - 171, the center said.

The nationwide ceasefire came into force across Syria at midnight on December 30, 2016 under the agreement on a complex solution to the Syria crisis. Syrian government forces and groups of armed opposition with an overall strength of more than 60,000 have joined the agreement. Russia and Turkey act as the ceasefire guarantors. Ceasefire does not cover terrorist groups, such as Islamic State.

The Russian Defense Ministry declared the establishment of the reconciliation center on February 23, 2016. It is headquartered at the Hmeimim air base, Latakia province. The center was set up in line with agreements reached by Russia and the United States to facilitate the negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition and to organize humanitarian deliveries.