Syria Accepts Truce Deal; Will Start Ceasefire On Feb 27

The Syrian warring parties including the Assad-led regime and the mainstream opposition composed of moderate rebel groups have indicated their agreement to the US-Russia truce plan to end armed hostilities effectively on February 27.

However, the agreed-upon ceasefire shall proceed with one particular caveat though. Combat operations against the factions belonging to the moderate umbrella group will halt except for attacks aimed at the extremists such as ISIS and the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nustra Front.

"In order to guarantee the success of the truce, the Syrian government asserts its readiness to continue its coordination with the Russian side to determine the territories and armed groups that are included in the truce," said the Syrian Foreign Ministry in a statement quoted by CBS News.

Despite guarantees provide thereto by the ceasefire deal, there is still a mounting concern about the Assad's commitment to drop its attacks on secular and moderate rebel groups considering that the regime has referred all factions involved in the armed uprising as 'terrorists'.

Pessimism also runs high among citizens who have gone through a terrible experience of seeing a civil war with no particular end in sight.

"Honestly, I am pessimistic unless there is a new development in the international arena. If the international community had wanted to stop the bloodshed, the killing and shelling, this could have happened three or four years ago," Bakr Safir told the newsgathering Arab agency Arab24 as quoted by the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the main sponsors of the truce plan are setting up the mechanisms that would make ceasefire workable for the warring parties concerned.

"The Russian Federation and the United States will establish a communication hotline and, if necessary and appropriate, a working group to exchange relevant information after the cessation of hostilities has gone into effect," the joint statement said as reported by CNN.