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FIGHTING HAS SUBSIDED across much of Syria today as the first major ceasefire of the five-year war takes hold and an international task force prepares to begin monitoring the landmark truce.
Guns fell silent at midnight in suburbs around the capital and the bomb-scarred northern city of Aleppo after a day of intense Russian air strikes on rebel bastions.
State media said “terrorist groups” fired a number of shells at residential neighbourhoods in Damascus, but it did not report any casualties and appeared to play down the attack.
Rebels also accused the government of intermittent “truce violations” in parts of the country.
The nationwide cessation of hostilities, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial but fragile step towards ending a war that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population.
It faces formidable challenges including the exclusion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front which control large parts of the country.
“Honestly, I was surprised that the calm lasted through the night,” said Ammar al-Rai, a 22-year-old medical student in Damascus.
I think this is the first time we’ve woken up without the sound of shelling.
United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said peace talks would resume on 7 March if the truce holds and more aid is delivered – a key sticking point in negotiations.
The special task force is due to meet in Geneva today to oversee developments.
Its co-chairs Moscow and Washington have set up rival offices to monitor the truce along with a UN operations centre and would be first to deal with any infractions.
De Mistura said it was important that any incidents are “quickly brought under control” and a military response should be the “last resort”.
Russia, which has waged nearly five months of intense air strikes against rebels in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said it had halted bombing in all areas covered by the truce.
Moscow has vowed to keep striking IS, Al-Nusra and other “terrorist groups”, but said its warplanes would not fly any sorties over Syria on the first day of the ceasefire to avoid potential “mistakes”.
Visits to parks
Calm held throughout the night in Aleppo, Syria’s second city which has been almost encircled by pro-regime troops after a massive Russian-backed offensive that has caused tens of thousands to flee.
Residents said they were considering taking their children on a normally unthinkable visit to the park.
“I hope the truce continues even for a limited time so we can get back part of our old lives from before the war,” said Abu Nadim, who lives in Aleppo with his wife and four children.
In the flashpoint rebel town of Daraya, west of Damascus, the local council said there was no shelling this morning.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said it was also relatively quiet in the central provinces of Homs and Hama.
But fighting continued in areas where IS and Al-Nusra are present, including in the patchwork of territory in Aleppo province.
Twin suicide bombings killed six people outside the town of Salamiyeh in Hama province, where IS is present, state news agency SANA reported.
The jihadist group also launched an attack on Tal Abyad in Raqa province, clashing with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) there.
A US-led coalition targeted the town with air strikes in an attempt to push back IS, according to the Observatory.
Scepticism remains
The complexities of a conflict which escalated from anti-government protests into a full-blown war drawing in rival world powers make brokering a lasting halt to the fighting a huge challenge.
Assad has been bolstered by the support of Russia and Iran while the West, Turkey and Gulf states back rebel groups.
“I’m extremely sceptical about the chances of the ceasefire holding, in view of the entanglement of rebel groups branded terrorist by Russia and others who avoid this label,” said Francois Heisbourg, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Less than an hour before the ceasefire began, the UN Security Council gave its unanimous backing to the truce in a resolution drafted by the US and Russia.
Syria’s top opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said Friday that 97 opposition factions had agreed “to respect a temporary truce”, but only for two weeks initially.
It said Damascus and its allies must stop attacking rebel forces “under the pretext of fighting terrorism”.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington had received assurances from Moscow that it would not bomb the “moderate opposition” after the truce.
“I don’t know how to put it any better than saying: ‘It’s put up or shut up time,’” he told reporters.
Iran has said it is confident the regime will abide by the agreement.
But rebels on the ground have been less optimistic, and Al-Nusra chief Mohammad al-Jolani urged regime opponents Friday to intensify attacks, saying: “Negotiations are the ones conducted on the battlefield.”
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If Dublin City Council really want to maximise O’Connell Street’s potential as the premier street in the city then investment in all surrounding areas like this is a must.
The north O’Connell Street regeneration with Moore St should take in the Parnell Sq area including the Garden of Remembrance, Hugh Lane gallery and the new Dublin library which will open next door in the old Colaiste Mhuire site. The Gate and Ambassador theatres are also there with the Savoy and GPO a stone throw.
It’s an area with a lot of potential to be a cultural quarter, whether they have the foresight or not is another thing.
€9 pints on Moore Street, can’t wait…
Great, so we’ll be expecting the council to allow a tesco and a McDonald’s to be built there soon enough
Don’t forget the rezoning too!!
Well we can’t all afford to shop in M&S and dine at The Gresham.
Why another tacky temple bar? Why not a historical, well kept area like you get in continental Europe?
Did you even make an attempt to read the article???
It clearly states “Haughey, the late Fianna Fáil Taoiseach, is widely credited with spearheading the regeneration of Temple Bar, which is now effectively the city’s ‘tourist quarter’ – however, initial plans for the area envisaged a cultural district, with an emphasis on galleries and art studios rather than bars and food outlets.”
Give the partisan bigotry a rest and get on board with a great plan for inner city Dublin/our shared national heritage.
The only thing I want to see on Moore Street is some salt of the earth woman offering me apples 5 for 50 just like the good old days.
Ps, Where will all the junkies go now!?
All the human beings with serious mental and addiction issues that cost more to the state on street than they do housed and working?
Oh I’m sure we can just continue to treat them like crap like we’ve always done.
All 5000/6000 of them need help and a lot of them need dual assistance as many have both mental and addiction issues. This was highlighted on rte prime time last night. Solutions involve safe injection centres, decriminalisation, drug testing kits, training of gardai for overdoses and supoort/social housing.
Yes and all of of these “safe places” should be in the city centre for the convenience of it all.
While we are at it lets build a few more blocks of flats in central locations, over looking a nice park maybe? With all mod cons of course. This way all of the victims of the world don’t need to travel far to avail of the services.
That’s just outrageous. You offer no solution except a paragraph making up stuff about mine?
Moore st is not really a haven for junkies. Moore lane, O’Rahilly parade and henry place; leading onto the henry st/o’connell st/north earl st intersection is. And no matter what is done to combat illegal activities and anti social behaviour of drug addicts in the inner city, unless there is (a)spaces in prisons and judges willing to fill them, (b) proper treatment of addiction without criminalising use, (c) secure housing for the homeless; the problem will always just move.
The simple fact of the matter is that government doesnt care about the marginalised in society. Public sector workers are having pay cuts reversed while we still run a defecit and many public services have not been restored let alone improved. Priorities are all wrong. We need solid action. Im not saying we should go as right wing as phoenix sheriff joe arpaio, but something similar to tent city for any sentence up to a year or two could ease the pressure on the prison service, stop the revolving door, and provide labour for public works. Use the money saved to invest in proper detox programs that provide secure housing afterwards.
Stay in this accommodation is subject to a 12 month probation and involves either work in public services or employment training. If these terms aren’t met, back in the tent city for two months. Either that or someone willing to put themselves forward to house them, family etc. And the need to participate in training/public work remains until employment is found.
Last thing Dublin needs is anything remotely like god awful temple bar.
Another Temple Bar…..
Great! The first one has worked out so well.
Fianna Fail making another attempt to reinvent the wheel.
I remember as a child being enthralled by Moore st, especially around christmas time. We would all go into town to see the magnificent christmas windows Arnotts used to have and wander around for the day. I remember the women calling out all their special offers. It a memory I will have forever, sadly it was never be experienced by my kids…everything is so commercial now
Christmas windows and shouting of special offers?
Sounds like your experience was always commercial
Kevin…they used to do lovely windows, puppets and dolls, winter themes..all kid orientated. Nothing to do with what was instore..they were brilliant, and its a memory i will cherish…no need to trash it for me.
Anyway its friday..you should be winding down for the weekend
Kid orientated commercial merchandising.
I’m not ruining your memories just highlighting the fact when you said “its all gone commercial now” it was in fact always commercial.
Lets not fall out kevin…after all its only more FF waffle
Tis
Was Arnotts non-commercial in those days, or something?
Remove the thieves,junkies,winos and other dross!
I agree Glen, get rid of the “ethnic” shops in Moore Street and bring back the ladies with their stalls!
Winos and dross?
You want to ban ethnic people?
What’s wrong with ethnic shops?
No I would prefer if Moore Street retained its Irish character hence these shops are out of place there.No problem with them elsewhere.As for junkies yes need to be removed from central Dublin, they are the cause of lots of crime and and anti social behaviour.
What sort of shops would you put there then Gus – bacon and cabbage shops? Irish people eat more Chinese food than bacon and cabbage nowadays. And you’d be hard-pressed to find many shops in Dublin draped with Irish flags like the Chinese shop in the picture above. These are genuine local businesses set up by local residents who are, whether you like it or not, Irish. This is entirely in keeping with the history of the street. I’d rather have what’s there than more Lidls and Tescos and chain restaurants.
Sweet jesus, an urban redevelopment company, a bunch of carpet bagging vultures is all that means. That’s moore street even more f**ked than it was
FF and the Haughey legacy. Great article from the Feb/March last in the Phoenix concerning commercial properties – “The Haughey lease”. The dept of Justice buildings on 74-76 St Stephen’s green were set up by him as minister for justice in 1963 as a 75-year ratchet upward-only rent review lease benefitting landlord Dr Colm McDonnell.
Then John Byrne of the Carlisle Trust Ltd benefitted by replacing the Carlisle buildings at O Connell bridge with the 11-storey O Connell bridge house which in 1964 housed the OPW for a 35-year ratchet rent lease.
The adept of Agriculture, Kildare Place – Haughey again, as minister for Finance, didn’t enable State ownership but appeased developers by not only providing the standard Commercial lease of 5-10 years and instead created a 150-year lease ending in the year 2123. How creative! Who benefits? Irish Life. By 1984, only 11 years after the building was complete (Agriculture House), Irish Life was already collecting as much in rent per year as it cost to build in the first place.
FF are gangsters, as are FG and Labour. Out with them. They all have left a filthy legacy. The current mob are crashing our future daily with mindless subservience to the Troika and the Corporations. The people are asleep.
I’m not sure why a ‘big picture’ plan is needed (did someone say centenary bandwagon election manifesto?). Take the three relevant terrace buildings and finally put some museum there. The traders on Moore Street have been there long before us, so who is it for someone here and now to say that they can’t trade there anymore? (Which I’m sure is what is envisaged in this regeneration). So the museum and a touch-up would suffice.
Is they want to do something useful, put some effort into making O’Connell Street a nicer place to be rather than simply putting down a load of drab granite. Incentivise something a little better than fast food outlets to setup there. Some brainstorming: close it off to traffic after a certain hour, allow bars to setup outdoors with canopies and outdoor heaters, etc.
It’s not some sort of national treasure FFS, it’s a run down hovel in a run down part of town. Knock, rebuild, and put in the right mix of commercial, leisure, residential, and kick the place back to the first world. One sure way to lose the junkies, howeryis, scrotes and skangers.
Where do you want to send all the homeless people?
So we should just get rid of a market which has been there for 200 years and replace it all with a glass box and a shiny new centra? How did that work out for Smithfield?
Two words: Les Halles. Look it up. Seemed to work out pretty well…
Paul McAuliffe enough said!
Well done to all involved with this proposal excellent idea.
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