The Syrian forces extended nationwide ceasefire that expires on Monday’s midnight for 72 more hours, state media reported.

The military high command said, in a statement on Monday that “a regime of calm will be extended for a period of 72 hours from the 11 July midnight (12 July) until July 14”.

Two periods of previous 72-hour truces were declared by the Syrian army on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr and at July 9 midnight, respectively.

The unilateral truces, however, led to no noticeable decrease in violence. Since Friday night, foreign-backed militants launched several mortar attacks against residential areas in Syria’s Northern province of Aleppo, killing dozens of people and wounding more than 100 others.

The truce extension comes as the Syrian army has been making fresh gains against foreign-sponsored terrorists.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The United Nations (UN)’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Source: katehon.com