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Syrian Military Declares Holiday Truce, but Will Respond to Attacks Syrian Military Declares Holiday Truce, but Will Respond to Attacks
(about 2 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian Army announced Thursday that it would cease military operations from Friday to Monday to mark the most important Muslim holiday of the year. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Protests long suppressed by wrenching violence  emerged onto the streets of cities and towns across Syria on Friday as a temporary cease-fire marking the most important Muslim holiday of the year largely held at the beginning of its first day.
The announcement, read on Syrian state television, made clear that the government reserved the right to respond to any military action by rebel forces. Rebel commanders and an organization that tracks the fighting from abroad said that Syria remained far quieter than it had been for a long time, although there were scattered incidents of clashes.
News reports early on Friday said violent clashes in many places overnight continued up to the proposed start of the truce at dawn.  The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted activists as saying the battles took place in the center and east of the country as well as in the northern city of Aleppo. Syrian state television showed President Bashar al-Assad  making a rare public appearance, attending the morning prayers marking the start of the holiday in a central Damascus mosque. There was no sound, but he was seen to be chatting amicably with other worshipers at the start of Id al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice.
Agence France-Presse said anti-government demonstrations replaced military clashes in some places as the deadline passed for the start of the cease-fire. President Bashar al-Assad was said to have attended early prayers at a mosque in Damascus, the capital, smiling and chatting with worshipers. The Syrian Army announced late Thursday that it would cease military operations from Friday to Monday to mark the holiday. The announcement, read out on Syrian state television, made clear that the government reserved the right to respond to any military action or even resupplying undertaken by rebel forces.  
Any truce was likely to be severely tested in places, given the fractured nature of fighting across Syria. It was negotiated by Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy trying to inaugurate a peace process. The truce was likely to be tested repeatedly given the splintered nature of fighting across Syria, although the bulk of the opposition seemed to accept respecting it if the government did. The cease-fire was negotiated by Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy trying to inaugurate a peace process.
Given that much of the opposition fighting under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army actually consists of separate military commands in every major city and province, it was hard to gauge if the opposition would also stop operations with any uniformity. Respect for the cease-fire was uneven, with some reports of fighting filtering in both before and after the dawn prayers. Since there was no official deadline for the cease-fire to begin, and no monitors or outside enforcement, its start and stop times were somewhat ad hoc.
But the head of the military council in the central city of Homs, Col. Qasim Saad ad-Deen, said he would respect the cease-fire if the Syrian military did. “It depends if the regime sticks to it,” he said. “We don’t want statements, we want actions.” Fighters in the northern city of Idlib, for example, said that it was quiet. But there were reports of clashes around a military base in northern Syria, and one neighborhood in the central city of Homs reported that in had been hit by six missiles.
Should the fighting stop or even slow for the holiday, Id al-Adha, the Muslim feast of sacrifice, it would be the first time since April that the two sides have at least said they would halt the killing. That previous cease-fire, arranged by Mr. Brahimi’s predecessor, Kofi Annan, was not respected by either side but slowed the tempo of killing for a few days. The government, apparently anticipating street demonstrations, had stationed security forces near mosques who tried to break up some of the protests, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the violence from abroad.
In announcing the cease-fire plan on Wednesday, Mr. Brahimi, the joint special representative of the United Nations and the Arab League, said that he hoped it could serve as the basis for something longer and more sustainable. It is essentially a do-it-yourself effort, however, with no outside monitors or enforcement provision. It said three people were wounded by gunfire in a hamlet near Deraa, but activists reported in other places that the security forces had resorted to tear gas or that Shabiha, the plainclothes militia of government supporters, had been harassing men headed to prayers or to cemeteries to visit graves.
The Syrian Army statement said that although it had accepted the cease-fire out of respect for the holiday, it reserved the right to retaliate. It said government forces would respond if “terrorist groups” — its blanket description for all the armed opposition — carried out any kind of attack, tried to reinforce their positions or resupply their ammunition or if more foreign fighters infiltrated the country. Still, with the threat of violence diminished, droves of protesters emerged onto the streets once again calling for Mr. Assad’s ouster and in some places for his execution. Although the uprising started as a peaceful protest movement in March 2011, the escalating carnage that has claimed tens of thousands of lives eventually drove the demonstrators indoors.
Another rebel commander, Arafat Mahmoud, reached by Skype in northern Syria, said he suspected the Syrian Army was just trying to regroup after having lost many checkpoints in the north, not to mention huge chunks of the city of Aleppo and other urban centers. Videos broadcast on YouTube showed protesters chanting anti-government slogans in Hajar al-Aswad, for example, a southern Damascus suburb. The video could not be independently verified as having been made on Friday, but activists described similar scenes from around Aleppo in the north to Deir az-Zour in the east and Deraa in the south.
“The regime is looking for an exit to get ammunition and food supplies,” he said. “All the regime’s tricks have been revealed; they want a cease-fire just to reinforce their bases.” Some of the chants at Hajar al-Aswad referred to recent reports of a split in the Alawite community, with a shootout apparently taking place on Sept. 29 between presidential relatives and his detractors in Qurdaha, President Assad’s hometown in the Alawite-dominated mountains above Latakia
A Western diplomat assigned to Damascus said that if there was even an attempt at respecting the cease-fire it could be a sign that both sides were feeling weary, squeezed militarily and looking for a break. As the Syrian protest movement has increasingly degenerated into a fight between the Sunni majority and the Alawite minority, there have been few cracks in the unity among the Alawites until that incident.
It was not clear, however, that both are ready to accept even the idea of a political settlement. Until now, both the government of President Assad and the opposition have indicated that they want to overpower the other by force of arms. “Come on Qurdaha, Come on Qurdaha!” protesters in Hajar al-Aswad chanted.
Several rebel commanders said that they wanted some of their conditions met to respect the truce, including the release of thousands of political prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid. United Nations agencies, hoping that the truce would hold, had been making contingency plans for an extensive effort to deliver emergency aid to civilians. Mr. Brahimi had stressed that the delivery of aid in war-ravaged cities was an important component of the truce. Should the fighting stop or even slow, it will be the first time since April that the two sides diminished the tempo of the violence. That previous cease-fire, arranged by Mr. Brahimi’s predecessor, Kofi Annan, was not respected by either side but the toll dipped for several days.  
In Amman, Jordan, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency said its relief workers in Syria, in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, were standing by to transport thousands of emergency aid packages to families in previously inaccessible areas on the assumption that the cease-fire would offer a temporary window for safe delivery. The spokesman, Ron Redmond, said the agency had positioned 550 tons of supplies for distribution to residents in parts of Aleppo, Idlib, Raqqa and Homs. In announcing the cease-fire plan on Wednesday, Mr. Brahimi said that he hoped it could serve as a building block as something longer and more sustainable.
“We’ve got to be prepared to get into places we haven’t been able to get into,” Mr. Redmond said in a telephone interview. Acknowledging that the cease-fire was fragile, he said, “We don’t have any illusions, but we’ve got to be prepared to move.” The Syrian Army statement said that it would retaliate if the “terrorist groups”  — its blanket description for all the armed opposition — carried out any kind of attack, tried to reinforce their positions or resupply their ammunition or if more foreign fighters infiltrated the country.
Fighting continued in earnest even on the eve of the cease-fire. Rebels said they had taken control of two important districts in central Aleppo, named Ashrafiyah and Syriac. It was impossible to corroborate the assertions independently. One commander in the north, Arafat Mahmoud, said he suspected the Syrian army was just trying to regroup after losing many checkpoints in the north, not to mention huge chunks of the city of Aleppo and other urban centers.
Even while rebel commanders said they were willing to consider a cease-fire, that sentiment was not universally accepted among the rank-and-file. “The regime is looking for an exit to get ammunition and food supplies,” he said via Skype. “All the regime’s tricks have been revealed, they want a cease-fire just to reinforce their bases.”
“The regime has violated so many truces in the past that we are not going to budge,” said a fighter using his nickname, Abu Thabet, reached in an area of Ashrafiyah that he said had been liberated from government control. Any halt in the fighting would allow Mr. Assad’s forces to move swiftly to try to restore the upper hand, he said. A Western diplomat assigned to Damascus said that if there is even an attempt at respecting the cease-fire it could be a sign that both sides are feeling beleaguered, squeezed militarily and looking for a break.
Further complicating the cease-fire is that some insurgent groups, operating beyond the command of the Free Syrian Army, have rejected it. One group, Al Nusra Front for the People of the Levant, a band of jihadists that Western intelligence officials have linked to Al Qaeda, circulated a statement on militant Web sites saying, “There is nothing between us and them except the sword,” referring to Mr. Assad’s loyalists. It was not clear, however, that both are ready to accept the idea of a political settlement or just wanted to rearm. Until now, both the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition have indicated that they wanted overpower the other by force of arms rather than negotiate.
Several rebel commanders said that they wanted some of their conditions met in order to respect the truce, including the release of thousands of political prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
United Nations agencies, hoping that the truce will hold, had been making contingency plans for a massive delivery effort for humanitarian aid. Mr. Brahimi had stressed the delivery of aid in cities like Aleppo, Homs and Idlib was an important component of the truce.
Even while rebel commanders said they were willing to consider a cease-fire, it was not a universal sentiment among the rank and file. “The regime has violated so many truces in the past that we are not going to budge,” said a fighter using his nickname, Abu Thabet, reached in an area of Ashrafiyah he said was liberated.
Any halt in the fighting would allow the regime to move swiftly to try to restore the upper hand, he said.
There are other groups like Jabhet al-Nusra, a band of Salafi-dominated fighters, who are outside the command structure of the Free Syrian Army. It circulated a statement on various militant Web sites saying that it completely rejected any truce. “There is nothing between us and them except the sword,” it said, referring to the regime.
In a region appalled by the carnage in Syria since the uprising first emerged as a peaceful protest movement in March 2011, the cease-fire gave at least a vague hope that the guns could be stilled for a while.In a region appalled by the carnage in Syria since the uprising first emerged as a peaceful protest movement in March 2011, the cease-fire gave at least a vague hope that the guns could be stilled for a while.
“After 19 months of daily killings and destruction, the Syrians deserve a chance to catch their breath, tend to their wounds, inspect their destroyed homes and property, and receive news from their families and loved ones,” wrote Urayb ar-Rintawi, a columnist in Jordan’s Ad-Doustour newspaper. “The Syrians deserve a space for hope.”“After 19 months of daily killings and destruction, the Syrians deserve a chance to catch their breath, tend to their wounds, inspect their destroyed homes and property, and receive news from their families and loved ones,” wrote Urayb ar-Rintawi, a columnist in Jordan’s Ad-Doustour newspaper. “The Syrians deserve a space for hope.”

Hania Mourtada and Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, Rick Gladstone from New York, and Alan Cowell from London.

Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, and Rick Gladstone from New York.