Syrian rebel groups wrote to the United States on Sunday, saying they would “cooperate positively” with a ceasefire but, according to two rebel officials, had deep concerns about details of the deal as relayed to them. The ceasefire was agreed between Russia, which backs the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and the United States, which backs some rebel groups, to come into effect at sunset on Monday and excludes some jihadi groups. The Syrian government is backed by Shi’ite militias from Iraq, Lebanon and Iran. The letter said the agreement neglected besieged areas and offered no guarantees against the government forcing local agreements on besieged areas, as happened recently in the town of Daraya, near Damascus. Reflecting opposition concern that the agreement was solely focused on Aleppo, the rebel groups said: “We insist on the necessity of aid going in to all the besieged areas without exception”.

Source: The Guardian September 11, 2016 20:50 UTC