Fighting rages in Syria before scheduled cease-fire takes effect

A cease-fire in Syria negotiated by Russia and the U.S. on Friday is set to take effect Monday at sundown, and many of the main warring factions — the government of President Bashar al-Assad, its allies Iran and Hezbollah, and the opposition Free Syrian Army — said they will abide by the truce, with reservations. The Islamist rebel group Ahar al-Sham slammed the deal, calling the agreement too favorable to Assad's government. Underscoring doubts about the cease-fire, dozens of people were killed in government bombing raids over the weekend in Aleppo, Idlib, and elsewhere — The New York Times says at least 91 civilians were killed, Al Jazeera puts the number at more than 100, including 55 civilians at a market in Idlib. Rebel groups attacked government positions, too, though without air power to inflict significant casualties.

Analysts say such jockeying for position is normal before cease-fires, but previous truces have collapsed within weeks. "Most of the countries seem to be on board, but this deal really depends of the cooperation of many different armed groups on the ground," says Al Jazeera's Stephanie Dekker. Under the terms of the proposed truce, the cessation of violence is supposed to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to embattled cities and in a week, the U.S. and Russia are to being cooperating in attacking the Islamic State and al Qaeda offshoot the Levant Conquest Front, formerly called the Nusra Front. The United Nations' Syria envoy estimated that 400,000 people have been killed in Syria's war.

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