Rockets, gunfire test new Moscow-backed truce near Homs

A displaced Syrian child, who fled from Daesh's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, sitting behind humanitarian aid boxes delivered by UNICEF at a temporary camp in the town of Tabqa. (AFP)

BEIRUT: Warring sides exchanged rocket and gunfire north of the Syrian city of Homs overnight, hours after a Russia-backed truce took effect, a war monitor said on Friday, while heavy rocket fire also marred a similar deal east of the capital Damascus.
Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime, said on Thursday its Defense Ministry and Syria’s opposition had agreed to set up a “de-escalation” zone in the rebel-held countryside north of regime-held Homs.
After an initial few hours of calm, the rebels and government forces and their allies began to target each other’s territory. The monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory, said it had so far not received reports of any deaths.
According to reports, Russian military police have been deployed north of the central city of Homs, setting up checkpoints and observation point.
The Observatory said dozens of Russian troops deployed on front lines between government forces and opposition fighters.
The Russia-backed truce was similar to a de-escalation deal worked out in July for the besieged Eastern Ghouta opposition enclave east of Damascus.
Despite the deal and some reduction in violence, air strikes, rockets and exchanges of fire have continued to hit Eastern Ghouta.
The Syrian Observatory said since the Eastern Ghouta truce was declared on July 22 it had recorded at least 25 civilian deaths, including seven children, and dozens of injuries. Russia said it had deployed its military police in Eastern Ghouta in July to try to enforce the de-escalation zone.
Eastern Ghouta, the only major area near the capital, has been blockaded by Syrian regime forces since 2013. It has shrunk considerably in size over the past year as the Russia-backed Syrian army has taken control of other opposition-held areas around Damascus.
The Observatory said on Friday around 70 rockets had fallen in 24 hours on Eastern Ghouta in the heaviest bombing since the de-escalation zone was declared.
Several attempts at a lasting cease-fire in western Syria, where the opposition has lost ground to regime forces and their allies, have collapsed with both sides blaming the other for outbreaks of violence.
Meanwhile, the heaviest fighting and shelling for months hit Hama province in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory said, but there were diverging accounts of how the battle started. The clashes were accompanied by heavy bombardment, with dozens of shells and rockets being fired, said the Observatory, adding that it had confirmed there had been casualties.
The battle is around the village of Maan, 23 km (15 miles) north of Hama in western Syria. The Syrian Observatory said the fighting arose from an attempt by pro-regime forces to advance north from Maan into the opposition-controlled territory.

Al-Qaeda affiliate targeted
Syrian opposition activists and state media said an explosion has targeted an office of an Al-Qaida affiliate in northern Syria, inflicting casualties.
Syrian state TV did not provide further details in its report. The Syrian Observatory said the explosion occurred near the office belonging to the Al-Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee on Friday.
The Observatory said two of the militant group’s fighters were killed and several others were wounded.
The Ibaa news agency, which is linked to Al-Qaeda, said the blast in the village of Urum Al-Kubra, west of the northern city of Aleppo, left “several martyrs” and wounded people.
The explosion comes amid rising tension in northern Syria between the Al-Qaeda-linked group and other factions, including more moderate opposition groups.