Air strike hits Syrian market, opposition says truce must be respected
Source: SBS Australia
A Syrian or Russian air strike was reported to have killed at least 19 people and possibly many more at a market in northwestern Syria on Monday, straining a cessation of hostilities agreement meant to pave the way for peace talks.
In a further upsurge in violence, al Qaeda's Nusra Front and other Islamist insurgents not included in the US-Russian agreement attacked government forces in a neighbouring province, taking over a village and at least two hilltops in their first advance for some time in the area, a monitoring group said.
The agreement, accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's government and most of his enemies, has reduced violence in Syria since it took effect on Feb 27, the first truce of its kind in a 5-year-old war that has killed more than 250,000 people and caused the world's worst refugee crisis.
Foreign powers hope the pause in fighting can lead to peace talks to end the conflict. But the agreement, which has not been directly signed by the Syrian warring parties and is less binding than a formal ceasefire, is very fragile and each side has accused the other of breaking it.
Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/03/08/air-strike-hits-syrian-market-opposition-says-truce-must-be-respected