Breaches reported in Syrian cease-fire

BEIRUT – Syrian opposition groups reported renewed Russian airstrikes in Syria on Sunday, the second day of a provisional truce, but Moscow said the cease-fire appeared to be holding despite violations by rebel factions.

A Saudi-based opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, reported 26 Russian airstrikes on Sunday against rebel factions supposedly covered by the truce. The committee said at least 29 people had been killed and dozens injured in pro-government breaches since the truce began Saturday. Russia is allied with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The committee assailed the alleged attacks and called on the United Nations “to intervene immediately to stop the crimes committed against the Syrian people.”

There was no independent confirmation of the reported attacks.

Russia, which said it postponed air attacks Saturday, the first day of the truce, did not provide details on its aerial operations Sunday.

It was unclear whether the purported airstrikes targeted zones occupied by Al Nusra Front, the official al-Qaida franchise in Syria, or Islamic State, the al-Qaida breakaway faction that controls large stretches of territory in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

Al Nusra Front and Islamic State are excluded from the United Nations-backed truce. Both groups are defined as terrorist organizations by the United Nations. Russia has said it would continue to target terrorist groups in Syria.

The interim cease-fire is regarded as the most extensive effort to date to halt the fighting in Syria, which has been battered by withering conflict for almost five years. The Syrian war has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, caused widespread destruction and sent millions fleeing from their homes, contributing to a refugee crisis in Europe.

Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, who heads Moscow’s cease-fire oversight efforts, said Sunday that the cessation had been “generally observed,” reported Russia’s Tass news agency.

However, Russian authorities said they had recorded nine violations of the truce in a 24-hour period, mostly by opposition factions. The violations included shelling of Damascus, which is firmly in government hands, by armed groups based in the suburbs of the capital, Russia said.