Over 34 Towns in Central Syria’s Hama Province Observe Ceasefire

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Combat operations have ceased across 34 towns and settlements across the west-central Syrian province of Hama, head of Russia’s Hmeymim reconciliation coordination center Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko said Saturday.

"At the moment the fighting stopped in 34 towns in the province of Hama," Kuralenko said in a press briefing broadcast by the Rossiya-24 network.

He noted that ceasefire agreements have been reached with tribal elders and field commanders in control of five towns in the province.

"Over the past 24 hours alone we signed a ceasefire agreement and the transfer of three settlements under the control of government forces," Kuralenko noted.

Summarizing the results of 169 phone calls and emails received since the Hmeymim coordination center was established on February 24, Kuralenko said 23 of the issues raised have been addressed immediately, 48 were being processed, while 36 out of 98 issues forwarded to Syrian government bodies have been resolved.

Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday, Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday). The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force.

The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist groups operating in Syria, including Islamic State (IS, also known as Daesh) and Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front), a group affiliated with al-Qaeda.