Syria ceasefire holds after initial incidents – monitors, rebel official

BEIRUT A ceasefire deal between Syrian government forces and rebels that took effect at midnight held early on Friday, after initial isolated clashes and gunfire, a monitoring group and a rebel official said.

The truce was violated almost immediately after it came into effect as the warring sides clashed in the northwest of the country. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hours later that the general “calm continues”.

A rebel official in the Jaish al-Nasr group said there had been “some shelling during the night, but today it’s stopped … until now the situation is good.”

(Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Paul Tait)