U.S., Russia Agree on Cease-Fire Deal to Ease Syria Crisis
- Nationwide ceasefire would start at sundown on Sept. 12
- Human rights group reports shelling, bombing hours after deal
Aleppo.
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The U.S. and Russia agreed to impose a cease-fire in Syria’s bloody civil war, seeking to ease the country’s deepening humanitarian crisis and begin talks on a political transition that opponents of President Bashar al-Assad hope will lead to his ouster.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the deal with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov late Friday in Geneva after a day of marathon negotiations. Under the agreement, fighting would be halted at sundown on Sept. 12. If the cease-fire holds for seven days, the U.S. and Russia would then work together to target an al-Qaeda affiliate formerly known as the Nusra Front, which in some cases has mingled with rebels that the U.S. supports.