Syria Cease-Fire To Take Effect At Sundown

A cease-fire in Syria brokered by Russia and the United States will go into effect at sundown local time on September 12.

The truce, announced on September 9 after weeks of talks, has been described as the best chance yet to end Syria's six-year civil war.

If the truce holds for a week, the United States and Russia will start working together to carry out military strikes against Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group previously known as the Al-Nusra Front, and against Islamic State (IS) militants.

The cease-fire does not apply to the extremist groups.

The plan calls for both warring sides to pull back from the strategic Castello Road in Aleppo to create a demilitarized zone, while opposition and government groups would both have to provide safe and unhindered access via Ramouseh in the south of the city.

Even as the warring sides in the conflict threw their support behind the cease-fire deal, air strikes killed around 100 civilians in Aleppo and Idlib over the weekend.

At least 58 civilians were killed in a strike targeting a market in the city of Idlib on September 10, while 30 civilians were killed in rebel-controlled areas around Aleppo.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters