BICOM

The United Nations – Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi yesterday announced that he had negotiated a four-day truce to the fighting in Syria, although it remained unclear whether President Assad’s regime had agreed to the ceasefire.

Speaking yesterday in Cairo, Brahimi said that the truce would coincide with the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha which starts on Friday. He said, “The Syrian Government has agreed to a ceasefire during the days of Eid,” adding optimistically that “If we succeed with this modest initiative, a longer ceasefire can be built.”

However, a spokesman for the Syrian government struck an uncertain tone surrounding the ceasefire, saying in a statement, “The army command is studying the cessation of military operations during the Eid holiday, and the final decision will be taken tomorrow (Thursday).”

Opposition forces appeared sceptical over whether even a small cessation of violence would happen. General Mustafa al-Sheikh of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is quoted in the Times saying, “The FSA will stop firing if the regime stops,” but noted that the “regime has lied many times before. It is impossible that the regime will implement the truce, even if it says it will”.

Fears have grown over the last week or so that violence from the year and a half long conflict in Syria is threatening to spill over into neighbouring countries. Jordanian authorities recently arrested eleven people who had crossed the border with Syria on suspicion of planning a major terror attack in Jordan’s capital Amman. Meanwhile, violence erupted in Lebanon during the last week following the killing of a senior security official, who was widely considered an opponent of Syrian influence.