Partial Ceasefire Set for Midnight in Syria

US, Russia agree to renew Syria ceasefire for certain parts of the country.

ByABC News
April 29, 2016, 5:57 PM
A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported airstrike on April 27, 2016 in the rebel-held neighborhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo.
A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported airstrike on April 27, 2016 in the rebel-held neighborhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo.
KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images

— -- The U.S. and Russia have agreed to reaffirm the Syrian ceasefire agreement, but this time in only parts of the country.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said today the parties involved were “refreshing” the broken cessation of hostilities, which were officially destroyed this week as Syrian forces bombed a civilian hospital, killing 50 -- including children -- and the last known pediatrician in the city of Aleppo. That city has seen the most intense fighting as the ceasefire has broken down, with an estimated 200 killed in recent days.

The agreement calls for a renewed ceasefire beginning tonight at midnight, local time, initially in the areas of Latakia, Damascus and Eastern Ghouta. Senior State Department officials insisted that although this doesn’t include Aleppo, the opposition-held city is not being ignored.

“So, we are talking about a couple of discrete areas in the immediate sets of this, but we are actually working on all of the areas, a senior State Department official told reporters today. “So, it’s not just about Latakia and Damascus, Eastern Ghouta east of Damascus, but also about Aleppo and other areas where we see problems or potential problems that we’re trying to get back -- get and then get this cessation of hostilities back on track.”

Despite the horrific hospital bombing this week, Syrian and Russian forces insist they are targeting terrorist in Aleppo.

Officials at the State Department insist that a total ceasefire is not an official precondition for the political negotiations between the warring parties, but the talks are unlikely progress without one.