Total of 143 Armed Groups Claiming to Observe Syrian Ceasefire - Russian MoD

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The number of armed battalions claiming to be observing truce in Syria has risen to 143, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

"The number of armed formations, which have claimed to observe the ceasefire regime in accordance with the Reconciliation Agreement of February 27, 2016, has reached 143," the ministry’s Center for Syrian Reconciliation said in a daily bulletin.

According to the document, over the last 24 hours the Syrian government forces have liberated 1 square kilometer (0.38 square miles) from militants of the Islamic State (IS) terror group (outlawed in Russia), bringing the number of inhabited areas that have been liberated from Daesh by Syrian troops to 227.

The bulletin added that no ceasefire agreements had been signed by representatives of Syria's inhabited areas over the last 24 hours, with the total number of signed reconciliation agreements remaining 1,464. However, the document added that negotiations on joining the ceasefire regime have continued among field commanders from detachments of armed opposition in Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Qunaitra provinces.

The civil war in Syria has been lasting for around six years with government troops fighting against numerous opposition factions and terror organizations such as al-Nusra Front and Daesh, outlawed in Russia.

The nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime was introduced on December 30, 2016. Terrorist organizations are not part of the ceasefire.