Syrian military calls ceasefire for Muslim Holiday

The Syrian government has declared that the national army will begin a four-day long cease fire in observance of the Islamic holiday Eid al Adha. The truce was initially proposed by UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. Despite skepticism from some of the rebels, Brahimi believes most of the rebel groups will support the truce. In a statement released to state media, the Syrian military said it will “reserve the right to reply to terrorists attacks, attempts of armed groups to reinforce or resupply, or attempts to infiltrate from neighboring countries.” A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army joint command made a similar statement that the Free Army will observe the ceasefire but “will not allow the regime to reinforce its posts.” Brahimi has been promoting his plans for a ceasefire over the past two weeks in the apparent hopes it would lead to more long-term peace negotiations. The agreement comes almost immediately after rebels take control of several central areas of the city of Aleppo, a critical battleground in the civil war that has now gone on for over a year.