Violence
significantly decreased in much of northern and western Syria on Saturday, the first day of a truce
brokered by the United States and Russia,
even amid reports of scattered violations, including incidents of bombing,
shelling and at least one aerial attack.
Russia said it was suspending, at
least for the day, the airstrikes it had been conducting for five months in
support of the Syrian government, and residents in many areas enjoyed a few
tentative hours of calm.